All I Ever Wanted
by BeachBabe123
Summary: An old enemy teams up with a new evil set on destroying the Earth. Will the MBC be able to stop them when love is added to the equation? When lies reveal the truth, enemies become friends, and friends become enemies, you know you got trouble!
1. Ch 1: The Letter

**Third MBC Fanfiction! And it's taken me a little while to piece this one together. And it took the help of both CathyRulz4Ever and Hahli Nuva. Thanks so much to you both for helping me with ideas! **

**The title is based on the Kelly Clarkson song. The story might be here and there. Some of the lyrics might work really well with this story. We'll see.**

**So, without any further babbling mostly because I don't really have anything else to babble about, here's chapter one!**

**Sam's POV**

"Even though it rains a lot, I'd have to say that spring is my favorite season," I said to Chris as the two of us were waiting for Cathy and Danny after school. The sky was filling up with purple-grey storm clouds, yet the sun still shown from the opposite direction. The look of the golden sun shining on the green trees outlined against the purple sky was breath taking.

"I agree," Chris replied, also looking up. "I love it when this happen." He pointed up to the sky.

"So do I," I said, tearing my eyes away from the natural beauty to look at my friend. I don't know if Chris knew I was watching him or not, but I don't think he would've looked any less adorable had he been aware of my gaze. The golden rays of the sun were reflecting off of his crystal blue eyes, making them sparkle more than usual. A small smile was drawn on his lips. I had always loved his smile.

"So, you've heard about the dance on Friday, right?" Chris asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Of course," I replied. "Cathy's been taking about it since last Monday! She's never been to a school dance before."

"Oh yeah. This'll be her first one," Chris said. "Does she want to go with anyone?"

"Naturally," I laughed. "But she hasn't said who. I think that she'll go with anyone. Except Jeremy. Unless he's the only one left not going with anyone. Then I think she'd go with him just to go with _someone!_"

I couldn't help but laugh at that, and I was happy to see that Chris found it funny too. I'm not what I'd call a funny person, so I always found it nice when I made someone laugh. Especially the certain significant someone that I am currently standing next to.

"So where is Cathy right now?" Chris asked. "I know Danny ran off to chase Wendy somewhere."

"I think Cathy went back to get her science book," I answered, remembering Cathy saying something about a forgotten book and her locker. I guess the last conversation had clouded my memory.

"Then she should be here soon. Who knows when Danny will get back," Chris said in response. Then we fell into an awkward silence again. I don't know why this happened almost every time Chris and I were talking alone.

"Hey Sam, I have a question for you," Chris said. He sounded nervous. I wonder why?

"Yeah?" I asked in reply, looking him straight in the eye. He looked back at me. I really do love the way the sun reflects off his eyes!

"I have something for you," he said, pulling a sealed envelope out of his backpack. He handed it to me, and I noticed that my name was written on the front of it in black pen. "But don't read it until later tonight."

"Why?" I asked, giving him a half curious, half suspicious glance.

"Just wait," Chris answered, smiling kind of mischievously. "You'll see."

"Who gave this to you?" I asked.

"I was sworn to secrecy," Chris replied. I sighed dramatically.

"Fine. A secret it is," I said and put the envelope away in my backpack. Now I was really impatient for Cathy and Danny to get here. I wanted to get home to read that letter!

"Hey guys!" Cathy called as she ran over to Chris and me. (Talk about perfect timing!)

"Hey Cath. Did you get your book?" I asked.

"Yeah. But Jeremy followed me all the way there. He tried to follow me back too, but I got away," Cathy explained with a triumphant little smile. "Where's Danny?"

"Somewhere failing at flirting with Wendy," I answered. "You know, the usual."

"I know," Cathy said with a giggle.

"Hi guys!" The three of us all looked up to see Danny walking towards us. He didn't look too depressed, but he didn't look super ecstatic either.

"Hey Danny! How'd it go with Wendy?" Cathy asked.

"Better than usual," Danny replied with a satisfied nod.

"Which means…" I prompted Danny to explain what he meant by 'better than usual'.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Danny admitted, looking down at the ground.

"That's okay. Let's just go back to the clubhouse and see if any aliens are planning to take over the world today," Cathy said, giggling again. So the four of us left school for the clubhouse as usual. But things weren't usual today. Today, I had a letter. And I was dying to see what it said.

**What does the letter say? And who's it from?**

**Sorry it's kind of short. The plot will actually start evolving in the next chapter or two. This is kind of just an introduction. I don't know, we'll see. **

**Anyway, no flames please! I like constructive criticism, but no hate comments! They make me sad. =( But good and helpful comments make me happy. =) And I tend to write better stories when I'm happy!**

**Read on! =3**


	2. Ch 2: Love At First Sight?

**Chapter 2! Sorry about the slowish update. School has not been kind with the projects and homework recently! But I've spent some extra study hall time planning out the next few chapters. So I'm hoping that means some quicker updates. =)**

**Well, I really don't want to waste your time with my babbling. You probably just want to get to the story. And so, without me continuing on any further about random little update stuff, here's chapter 2! Enjoy!**

**Cathy's POV**

"So Danny, what actually happened earlier with Wendy?" I asked a few minutes after we had left school. We were almost half way back to my house, and the topics of conversation had all been short-lived and not very exciting. Who cares about next Thursday's math test? I would much rather listen to stories about what was going on at school!

"Well, let's just say that things didn't work out like I had planned," Danny said, obviously trying to chose his words carefully. He was blushing slightly and I could tell that he was embarrassed to tell us the real story. If anything, Chris would hear about it later. But that was probably it. I've come to notice that guys don't like to admit their failings to girls, yet they'll tell other guys. Must be some pride thing.

"Yeah, we got that part. Now what exactly went wrong?" Sam asked. Danny's face got a little bit redder. I giggled. Sam always knew how to put someone who was already in an uncomfortable situation into an even more awkward situation. Sometimes, it was annoying. But other times, like now, it was funny.

"Umm… well… can we please not talk about this now?" Danny finally gave up trying. "I don't push you to tell me things!"

"Yes you do! What about that one time…"

"Not you! You don't count," Danny interrupted Chris before he could finish his sentence.

"Why doesn't he count?" Sam asked in the same voice as before. Wow, she was good at making these situations interesting!

"I'm done with this conversation!" Danny announced, covering his ears with his hands and closing his eyes.

"But Daniel, you haven't answered any of my questions," Sam said, her tone a sarcastic mimic of shock. Danny cut her off by simply babbling as loud as he could to drown her out. Sam kept trying to talk over him anyway.

"Come on, Danny! Can't you at least tell us what your initial plan was?" Sam asked playfully. "And then maybe you can add in what went wrong!"

"You two are ridiculous," Chris said, although he was smiling. I was just down right cracking up at this. Although it got annoying sometimes, Danny and Sam's fights could be pretty comical.

"I'M NOT LISTENING!" Danny cried, his hands still jammed over his ears. Sam didn't give up on him. Chris and I continued to laugh at them. Until I hit the uneven pavement.

Yes, I will admit it: I am not always the most observant person. And when I'm just casually laughing with my friends, I tend to be even less observant. So naturally, I didn't see the fairly big incline in the sidewalk. And as usual when you don't see something on the ground in front of you, you trip over it.

I had expected the fall. Right after my foot hit the raised pavement, I knew that I was going down. The world seemed to go into slow motion for a minute. I prepared myself for when I met that unforgiving sidewalk. Hopefully I wouldn't get banged up too bad. There was a school dance on Friday after all! I was braced for the fall. But I wasn't prepared for the arms to catch me.

Before I'd even come close to the sidewalk, two strong arms wrapped around my center and pulled me back. I didn't know whom they had belonged to. I knew they belonged to a boy, for they were pretty strong arms. Had Danny or Chris been able to catch me in time?

When the arms let go, I turned around and stared into a face I didn't know. I had been right about my hero being a boy. And this particular boy had olive skin, dark brown hair that was not too long but just long enough to rest above his gold hazel eyes, and thin lips that were curved into a friendly smile. Even though I hadn't even met the boy yet, I already liked him.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked.

"Yeah," I answered, too shy to say much more. I wonder how red my cheeks were right now. Here I was after just tripping out of nowhere and now I was talking to this cute boy I'd never met who had just happened to save me from the fall. I was betting that my face was close to the color of a fire truck.

"Good," the boy replied with a relieved smile. "I'm Max Kelly." The boy, er, Max extended his hand out to me. "And what's your name?"

"I'm Cathy Smith," I replied shyly, shaking his hand. I don't know if it's just me being all silly romantic, but I think our hands fit perfectly together. That wouldn't be a bad thing, would it? To have your hand fit perfectly in the hand of a hot guy?

"It's nice to meet you, Cathy," Max said, still smiling. I liked his smile. I could've stayed there just looking at Max's perfect smile, and the rest of his perfect face, for the rest of my life…

"Um, hello? Earth to Cathy and new guy," Danny's voice called me back to reality. I hadn't realized that the world around me had melted away when I saw Max. I wonder if that's what it feels like when you fall in love?

"Oh, uh… sorry guys," I said quickly, feeling the heat rising in my cheeks again. "This is Max."

"Hi," Max said with a wave.

"Max, these are my friends Sam, Chris, and Danny," I continued, pointing to each of my friends as I said their name. "Guys, Max just saved me from falling to the ground after I tripped on the uneven pavement."

"We know. We saw it all happen," Sam answered. She sounded a little bit excited. I wonder why.

"Are you new here, Max?" Chris asked, generally curious.

"Yes I am," Max replied. "We just moved in today, and I get to start school tomorrow. I'm going to Single Town Middle School."

"Hey! That's where we go!" I exclaimed with more excitement than I'd wanted to.

"Great! Then I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow," Max said, smiling again. "Maybe you could show me around or something?" Even though he'd been addressing all of us, I got the feeling that that comment was directed mostly towards me.

"We'd be happy to," Sam replied. I would have to thank her for that later. My tongue was too tied to say anything!

"Awesome. Thanks. I'll see you guys later," Max said, and with one last smile at me, he walked off down the street. I watched him for a few minutes. I don't know what it was, but I felt sort of… attached to Max. And I sort of liked it.

**And thus the story goes on! I know I didn't mention anything about the letter. But it's coming. Don't worry. **

**I hope you all enjoyed this! Please review! Reviews make me happy! =)**

**Read on!**


	3. Ch 3: Choosing Without A Choice

**Chapter 3! I'm actually really happy that I've had the time to write 2 chapters so far this weekend. **

**Just FYI, this chapter takes place about two hours after chapter 2. **

**Okay, I'm done talking… or writing I guess. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Sam's POV**

"Sorry to end this conversation early, but I have to go home. My mom doesn't appreciate it when my brother and I aren't home for dinner," I said just as Danny was going to put up another argument on why waffles were better than pancakes. Why were we debating about breakfast foods? I don't even know!

"Aw, but the conversation was just getting so good," Cathy said.

"Yes, a conversation about pancakes vs. waffles is a very serious topic of conversation," I replied sarcastically.

"Whatever. I'll you tomorrow," Cathy said. I stood up and grabbed my backpack from the floor.

"I'll see all three of you tomorrow," I said waving at the boys. Danny waved back absent mindedly, (I think he was still preparing his next argument!). Chris actually waved at me with a smile. I really do love that smile.

"Bye!" I called as I walked out of the clubhouse. The sun was setting and it was beginning to get dark. The storm clouds in the sky had not yet gone away, and the sun effect from earlier had ended. But I had to admit that the sky still looked pretty with the different shades of red, yellow, pink, orange, and a little bit of blue and purple were scattered behind the dark clouds. You have to love the wonders of nature.

As I walked down Cathy's street on the way to my own, I thought about what had happened in the last two hours since school. We'd met that new kid Max. Then we'd gone back to the clubhouse, and no alien alerts came. So we had spent the day debating useless topics such as the pancake waffle thing. I do have to admit though, that I enjoy these no action days every now and then. I think we grow closer as a team wen we're all just talking, even if the topic of conversation is pointless.

A few of the streetlamps were turning on now as the sun continued to fade. I didn't mind walking at night; I actually found it quite peaceful. But tonight, something felt different then every other night. I felt like I was being watched. I know that sounds cheesy like in one of those horror movies, but I really did get the feeling that something was watching and possibly even following me. I turned around, just to make sure. No one was there. I sighed. I guess my imagination was just playing games on me.

I turned back around and continued walking. But the feeling didn't go away. I heard a bush rustle behind me. I whirled around to face… a bush. Nothing more. Just a bush, not a psycho killer hiding in the bush. I took a deep breath to try to calm me imagination. I don't know why it was getting so worked up tonight.

Then I heard a footstep from not too far behind me. I turned that way to once again see no one. But I couldn't have imagined that sound. Could I? Nothing moved anywhere on the street. I really had to get home before I became to paranoid to even walk. I turned back around to continue down the street, and came face to face with a familiar winged alien.

"Hello, Samantha," Nossida said coolly. I tried to turn back around and run away as fast as I could, but Nossida was faster than me. He had already grabbed my wrist and was holding me where I was. I couldn't run; he was stronger than me.

"Why the hurry?" Nossida asked. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"That's a good thing," I said back, trying to pull myself free. But it was hopeless. Nossida was way stronger than me and I'd never get free from him unless he wanted me to. I was trapped.

"Now, now. Why so hostile?" Nossida asked, the fake sweetness in his voice. I knew that side of him well. Nossida was good at pretending to be something he's not. Why he was trying to deceive me now, I couldn't say. I already knew he was no good.

"I don't know, maybe because you pretty much tried to destroy the Earth last time we saw each other," I said in an icy tone. I avoided making eye contact with the alien.

"I wasn't trying to destroy the Earth," Nossida corrected. "I was trying to create the ideal planet for aliens."

"Which involves killing the life forms that were already living on the planet," I said.

"Exactly. So that's not _destroying_ the Earth, that's destroying the things that live _on_ the Earth," Nossida explained.

"I'm done talking about this. What are you doing here and what do you want with me?" I asked, trying to pull away again.

"I came here to help a friend of mine," Nossida answered. "They, too, have a plan for this planet. And since I got so close to achieving my goal last time, they figured that together we could actually succeed." Well that didn't sound good coming from a bad guy.

"What's the plan this friend of yours has?" I asked.

"To take over the Earth," Nossida answered. "She wants to take over it solely for the purpose of conquest because she's in a competition with her brother to see how many planets they can conquer. It's quite interesting actually. And now she wants to add Earth to her list."

"What do you mean by take over?" I asked. "Would she just claim Earth as hers, or would she actually try to enslave the humans and rule over them like a dictator?"

"Probably both," Nossida answered.

"But you can't do that," I said.

"I can," Nossida replied.

"No you can't," I said.

"You wanna bet?" he responded.

"No," I replied.

"Then let's drop the subject," he suggested.

"I agree," I said. "Now let me go."

"Oh no, I'm not finished yet," Nossida said, slightly tightening his grip on me. "You see, I wouldn't just tell you what I'm up to without a reason. You know I'm smarter than that, Samantha."

"Okay. Now what's your reason?" I asked, getting really tired of this.

"My friend and I have been working out a plan for a long time. And we've always been missing one piece: a deceiver. We need someone who can get on the inside of our enemy; the MBC. Someone who will be able to sneak around them under their radar so we can carry out our plan. And that someone, is going to be you, Sam," Nossida explained. I finally looked him straight in the eye.

"Wha-What?" I stuttered, unable to form any other sound.

"I need you to join me on the dark side," Nossida explained again in easier words. But I would've understood it no matter how he chose to say it. The message was still the same.

"I-I won't do it!" I cried, struggling to pull away with all of my strength. Nossida gripped me tighter, actually starting to hurt me. "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME DO THIS!"

"You'd be surprised, Samantha. I really do think I can make you do it," Nossida said calmly.

"There is no way that you could ever force me to betray me friends," I hissed, glaring at him since I was unable to get away from him.

"I still think I can," Nossida said. "See this?" He showed me a small red sphere that was no bigger than button. "This is called a Senseographer. And this…" He pulled out a purple sphere of the same size. "…is a Glaciolus. Notice how they look similar." I just glared at him in reply.

"Both of these items can be absorbed into the bloodstream of any life form from any planet. And they procure the same results in every life form. But their results differ. The Senseographer prevents someone from spilling a secret. The Glaciolus will kill the life form it is absorbed into upon the request of the person who administered the Glaciolus. And as you can see, I'm in possession of both."

"How does that effect me?" I asked.

"Well, let's just say that I have more than one of each other these. But I seem to have three less Glacioluses than I had when I got here," Nossida said. "I wonder where they could've gone in the town of four of my worst enemies…"

"You didn't!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening in fear. "How? When? Where?" Nossida smiled wickedly.

"That part will remain a secret. But the fact of the matter is that the life of your three best friends now rests in my hands," he replied coolly, showing me a little green button that was now in charge of my friends' lives. "And as for you…"

Nossida grabbed my hand that he was already somewhat holding and pressed the red Senseographer into my palm. The little sphere melted into my hand. Talk about weird!

"…you're going to keep your mouth shut," Nossida continued. "Because there is a second part to the Senseographer that I forgot to mention. The one who administered the device to you knows when you slip up and spill the secret. So, if you do tell, you know what I will do." He showed me the button again.

"So what do you say, Samantha? Will you join me?" Nossida asked, finally letting me go. Yet for the first time tonight, I actually would have preferred him holding me. My legs were shaking too much for me to stand any longer. I feel to my knees. I didn't have a choice.

"Yes," I whispered.

**Nossida's POV**

"Good choice," I said with a smile. "I shall come for you tomorrow when my friend arrives." I left Sam kneeling on the sidewalk tears silently falling down her cheeks. Was I pleased with making her so upset? Yes. Yes I was.

But I was even happier upon what I'd walked away with. There had been a letter in Sam's pocket and I'd taken it without her noticing. Was it an important letter? I don't know. But what ever it was, I had it and it was unopened.

**THE LETTER! **

**So Nossida's back. And who's this new evil? **

**Find out in chapter 4!**

**Read on!**


	4. Ch 4: Under Your Spell

**Chapter 4! Sorry it's been so long, for some reason, my teachers all decided to give huge projects at the same time. So that took up a lot of my focus this week. **

**Anyway, I've actually had this chapter planned for while so it will hopeful play out well. **

**I love reviews. (Just saying!)**

**Enjoy!**

**Danny's POV**

"Where are Sam and Cathy?" I asked Chris as I opened my locker. Usually, all four of us met up at our lockers in the morning. But today, it was only Chris and I. Something wasn't right.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them this morning," Chris replied, looking around the hall for them. "I don't see them now either."

"I wonder if an alien captured them," I said in a quieter voice. The MBC is a secret organization, after all. "They could've gotten them last night. Sam did leave early. And who knows what happened at Cathy's house after we left."

"Danny, I don't think an alien captured them," Chris responded. "The scanner would've picked it up."

As if on cue, our v-coms started beeping. There really _was_ an alien somewhere in Single Town.

"Still don't believe me?" I asked, smirking triumphantly.

"Kind of," Chris replied, quickly shutting the door to his locker. "Okay, what are we going to do about the…"

"Hey guys!" Cathy said cheerfully as she walked up to us.

"Hey Cath, we were just wondering where you were when," I began, but stopped before telling her about the alien alert when Max walked up after her. Did he really need to give me another reason to dislike him?

"Hi," Max said.

"Sorry I wasn't here earlier. I was showing Max around the school," Cathy explained, smiling at Max. He smiled back. I continued to hate him. I don't honestly know what Chris was thinking right now. (Sometimes I wish I were a mind reader like Cathy's cousin Elton. Then I could narrate these things better!)

"Well that was nice of you," Chris said. I guess that's what he was thinking. (How unexciting!)

"Yeah, it was really helpful. I would've been completely lost if it weren't for Cathy and her expert tour guide skills," Max said in reply, his smile becoming warmer. I didn't like that smile. That's the same smile I give Wendy every single time I see her. This was not looking good.

"Glad I could help," Cathy responded, her cheeks turning slightly red. She looked away from Max and down at the floor. The warning signs continued to flash in my head. Cathy would usually get all shy and nervous around a guy she liked.

"Well, I have to get to class. Get through all of the new kid stuff with the teacher. See ya around," Max said with a wave and one last smile at Cathy. He disappeared down the hall, but was stopped before leaving completely by a red haired girl and her brunette friend.

"He's amazing," Cathy sighed, watching Max.

"That was nice of you to show him around," Chris said. (Wow, you totally didn't just say that two minutes ago!)

"Oh, it was no trouble," Cathy replied. She looked dreamily back at Max. "No trouble at all."

"That's wonderful, Cath. Now let's go find Sam. Class is going to start in ten minutes and she's never this late," I said quickly, really wanting to end all conversation about Max. I don't like the guy. Enough said.

"Okay. Sounds good," Cathy replied, not sounding fully with it. She was still dreamily watching Max. Grr.

"You're jealous," Chris said in a voice that was so quiet, I wasn't even sure that I heard it. I faced him, and he turned to face me.

"I am not jealous," I whispered back. Chris only nodded in reply. "I am not!"

"You are and you know it as well as I do," Chris replied. I sighed. I didn't want to talk about this right now.

"Whatever. You can believe whatever you want. Let's just go find Sam," I said, giving up on people for the moment. I don't think I've ever been more excited to get to class than I am right now.

"Okay. You don't want to admit it, fine. Let envy eat you up until you can't take it anymore and crack," Chris replied.

"What book did you get that one out of?" I asked.

"Why does that matter?" Chris asked in reply.

"Stop reading," I said humorlessly. Chris just smiled and turned back to the mystified Cathy. What did she see in Max anyway?

"Come on, guys. We need to go find…" I stopped midsentence as I turned back to Cathy as well. Because only a little ways down the hall, I saw Max talking to… Wendy. She seemed to be flirting with him, and he was flirting back. And it was working!

I just stared. How in the world was that boy doing this? He'd captured the hearts of both of the girls I liked. Yes, I was more open about my feelings for Wendy than I was with my feelings for Cathy. But still, how was this guy able to woo both of them? I just didn't understand it.

"Are you going to admit to being jealous now?" Chris asked, actually audible this time.

"Danny's jealous? Of who?" Cathy asked, turning back to face us as she snapped back to reality. (Finally!)

"No, and it doesn't matter because I am not jealous," I snapped, glaring at Chris.

"Okay. Whatever you say. Let's go find Sam," Cathy said, not seeming to sense my defensiveness. I suppose that was a good thing.

The three of us began to walk down the hall together, the opposite way of where Max and Wendy were. We were quiet. It was nice. We met Sam as we turned the corner down the next hall.

"Hey guys," Sam said cheerfully as the four of us nearly ran into each other. "Sorry I'm late. It was just a crazy morning."

"Yeah. Those aren't fun," Cathy agreed. "Are you ready for the _Romeo and Juliet_ Act Three test today?"

"We'll see," Sam replied, running ahead of us to get to her locker. I laughed. That wasn't the usual Sam response to a question involving a test. The Sam response was usually yes. The Chris response was always a yes. The Cathy response was often a yes, sometimes a hopefully. And as for the Danny response? No!

**Cathy's POV**

No matter what I did, I couldn't stop thinking about Max. I was finding it hard to ask Sam about what had happened to her that morning. That's just how transfixed I was with Max. It almost feels like he put some sort of love spell on me. But I don't care. I love it! I feel like I'm floating on air every time I talk to him, or see him for that matter! I wonder if this is what true love feels like…

**Sam's POV**

I honestly don't know how I'm going to survive this day. Here I am, pretending like nothing's wrong. EVERYTHING'S WRONG! My friends, the very people and alien I'm talking to, could be killed any second for no reason at all! And as for me, I had to keep my mouth shut about everything that happened last night. If not… I don't even want to think about that. So I'm just going to play happy and not let anyone see that something's wrong.

**Chris' POV**

Something's wrong with Sam. I can tell. Her words ring happy, she's smiling, but her eyes are troubled. They aren't sparkling like they usually do. Something's bothering her. Her smile isn't truly happy either. But that's even harder to catch than the eyes. I don't even think that Cathy and Danny notice anything wrong with her.

I'm considering not telling Sam about the alien alert. Unless she already knows. I'll let her bring it up. Because for the times being, I'm more concerned about finding out what's bothering Sam.

**Sam isn't as imperceptible as she thinks. =)**

**So, what do you think? **

**As previously stated, I love reviews. No flames please, (they make me sad!)**

**Chapter 5 coming soon! **

**P.S. You get to meet some more new characters in chapter 5! Any guesses on who they might be?**

**Read on!**


	5. Ch 5: Meet You New Leader

**Chapter 5! Yay! Two in one day! Yippee! I love Saturdays when I don't have homework or any projects! (That's actually a lie I have math homework. But there's no way I'm doing that today!)**

**So I told something about this chapter last time. I guess I should've spaced publishing chapters 4 and 5 out a little more, but whatever. So be it. The end.**

**I hope you all thoroughly enjoy chapter 5!**

**Sam's POV**

I think today may have been one of the hardest days I've eve lived through in my life. I don't even know how I made it without breaking down! If nothing, today has extended my breaking point because I know I reached it at least fifteen times throughout the day.

Cathy was talking to me like she did everyday; she'd talk about gossip she'd heard floating around the classroom, she'd talk to me about Danny, she'd talk to me about my Chris because she knows I kind of sort of really like him, she'd talk about how annoying Jeremy was, and today she'd started talking about how cute Max was. It was a regular Cathy talk day. Except I couldn't shake the thought that a deadly poison was circulating within her and one slip up on my part could send her to her death at any given moment. It wasn't a regular Sam talk day, that's for sure!

Then there was Danny. He rarely tells me anything about his inner feelings, I mean come on, he is a guys even if he is one of my best friends. But Danny does come to me when he doesn't know who else to turn to. Today, he needed to know at what point could one be considered jealous. He told me about how Cathy and Wendy were falling for Max. I assumed from this that Chris had previously called him out on being jealous and now Danny was starting to agree with him. And I tried my best to tell him that he was definitely jealous if the fact that the two girls he liked both fell for another guy was still bothering him. But I couldn't completely focus on that because I was too busy trying not to tell Danny about what happened with Nossida last night.

And then of course there was Chris. He knew something was up. I could tell. He kept looking at me with that concerned expression. And although he does look adorable when he's concerned, I hated the fact that I wouldn't be able to tell Chris what the problem really was. I would always meet his gaze with what I hoped was a convincing smile. He would smile back, but his eyes showed that I hadn't been convincing enough. Yes, today had been hard.

Yet here I was, still standing. I only hoped that I could hold it together until I could figure a way out of this mess. There had to be a loophole somewhere. There just had to be!

"Samantha, are you ready?" Nossida asked, breaking my inner thoughts. I shook my head to get back to reality and looked down at the winged alien. He was standing in a rowboat big enough for about three people. His hand was held out to help me in. I accepted his hand and climbed into the little wooden structure. It felt sturdy enough.

"Where are we going?" I asked as Nossida pushed the boat away from the dock and out onto the dark water. The moon's reflection looked like a silver ribbon on the water. We seemed to be rowing directly on that ribbon.

"To meet the others," Nossida replied. "Don't worry, I think they'll like you." I sighed. _Sure, they can like me. That doesn't mean I'll like them!_

"And where were we?" I asked. I had never known there was a lake within walking distance from Single Town.

"We're at Lake Agápi. It means love in Greek," Nossida answered. "I won't tell you exactly where it is. You could indirectly lead your friends to it if I did."

"But wouldn't you know if I did?" I asked.

"Not necessarily. If you hid it well enough, I wouldn't be able to pick up on it," Nossida answered. "So thus, I don't tell you how to get to where the lake is." I sighed and looked around. The world was dark.

After a few minutes, we came to a small island. The lake was very big, and we appeared to be in the center of it. On the island, a tall building stood in the light of the moon. Two lights shown in the windows, one from the ground floor, one from the third floor. I started to fell uneasy about this.

"Come," Nossida instructed, helping me out of the boat onto the small wooden dock set up on the island. We walked down the length of the squeaky dock and finally made it up to the door. Instead of knocking, Nossida simply pushed the door opened the door and pulled me inside. The foyer of the building was quite large and had a high ceiling. A large staircase that spiraled upwards stood right across from the stairs. There were hallways to the right and left of the foyer as well as a third hallway to the right of the stairway. Although it was darker than normal, I found the room very pretty. Hiding evil yes, but pretty.

"MARLENA! VINCENZIO! PENNOKO! I'VE GOT THE GIRL!" Nossida cried into the dark space. His voice echoed around. At first, there was no reply. Then a light turned on down the center hallway.

"We're down here, Nossida," a boy's voice called. Nossida lead me down that hallway into a room that looked like a living room. There was a couch against the opposite wall, and a collection of mismatched chairs everywhere else. The boy from earlier was standing in the center of the room.

"Hello, Samantha. I am Vincenzio Adrian Hyson. And it is a pleasure to meet you," he said. Vincenzio had dark blue eyes that almost looked purple, sandy blonde hair that wasn't too long but long enough to be considered long, and fair skin that obviously tanned easily. (His face was that perfect sun kissed tan that they always give the surfer dudes in movies.) He was good looking; I'd give him that.

"Hi Vincenzio," I replied, unsure of what else to say.

"Oh, please, call me Adrian," Vincenzio replied. "It's kind of like my nick name."

"Alright," I responded, not really wishing to talk to him anymore. He was the reason I'd nearly broken down today.

"Oh good, you've returned Nossida," a woman's voice said from behind us. I turned around to face a woman that looked at least thirty with long auburn hair that fell to her hips and glistening green eyes. She didn't look bad, but her presence definitely radiated evil. "It is very nice to finally meet you, Miss Samantha." I nodded in reply. I didn't know how to respond. _I wish I could say the same about you, but honestly, I wish I wasn't meeting you right now! _Yeah, that sounded classy alright!

"I am Marlena Hyson," the woman continued. "And you are going to be the deceiver in my plan to conquer the Earth." She smiled. I had to admit, she was a beautiful woman. In a wicked sort of way. She probably could've won one of those modeling shows.

"Would you like to explain the plan to her, Marlena? Or shall I?" Nossida asked.

"I will. Once Penn gets down here," Marlena replied, moving back to the door. "PENNOKO!"

"I'm right here, mother," a quiet voice said from somewhere behind me. I turned to see another boy closing a door that I hadn't noticed off to the left side of the room. This boy was slightly skinnier than Adrian and had jet-black hair that was about the same length as Adrian's. But what really struck me about the boy were his emerald green eyes.

"Oh good. Then I can begin my explanation," Marlena said. "Okay, let's start with the goal of the plan. I want to take over the world. And for the time being, all I wish to do is claim it as my own. Total domination will come later. But to even claim the world as my own, I will need to dominate some part of it. And that part is Single Town, home to Earth's MBC team. Why you might ask? Because it will be easier to achieve domination without you four trying to stop us. So we're going to take the MBC out of the equation from the beginning.

"Now, Samantha, you might be wondering what you have to do with any of this. Well, we won't be able to destroy the MBC without getting to them from the inside. And that will be your job. You will find away to weaken the rest of the MBC so that we can proceed with our plan. How you will weaken them is up to you.

"After you have weakened the MBC, these three boys will step in. They have devised some plan to conquer the city. So they will accomplish that and then we will have our base for world domination. That's about it for now. Any questions?"

I was utterly speechless. Sure, it hadn't been one of those really long, super elaborate speeches that told every little detail of the plan. But that had been just as effective! I still wasn't cool with the idea of betraying my friends. And that seemed to be what I had agreed to last night. Great.

"You won't have to weaken the MBC alone. We have another scout coming," Marlena added when I didn't respond. "I know that you are reluctant to hurt your friends. But trust my word child, you will not regret helping me." I looked into Marlena's eyes. What was that supposed to mean? _You will not regret helping me._

"Um, you forgot one thing mother," Adrian said shyly.

"Oh yes! How could I have forgotten that," Marlena exclaimed. Her smile changed from utterly wicked to warm and friendly. "There is a custom on our planet, Vykaria, that when a boy turns 26, he must marry. Adrian has recently turned 24. And before coming here to Earth, Adrian had picked you to be his wife, Samantha."

"What? No!" I cried. "He's 26! I've been thirteen for a month! That doesn't work!"

"Actually, I does. Adrian is 26 in Vykarian years. In Earth years, he is also thirteen," Marlena explained. "It works out perfectly."

My day wasn't getting any better. Not only did I now have to keep an even bigger secret from my friends, I was also arranged to be married to some guy I barely know. I repeat, great.

"So, my dear, are you still willing to help us?" Marlena asked. "Or do you wish for us to, you know…" She didn't have to continue. I knew what she meant. And I couldn't let that happen.

"Danny's jealous because Cathy likes another guy," I said, looking at the floor. "We could use that to our advantage to weaken the MBC."

"Very good." I didn't have to look at Marlena to know she was smiling.

I despised her. But not more than I currently despised myself.

**SAM JOINED THE BAD GUYS! **

**Yep, she did. **

**But she doesn't like it, remember that. **

**P.S. Pennoko will also be referred to as Penn or by his middle name Trent like his brother goes by his middle name. (Just in case I don't mention it again. I will try to mention it, though.)**

**I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Read on!**


	6. Ch 6: Jealous Much?

**Hey readers! Sorry it's been so long! I had finals for a week, and then I had a new story idea and got distracted. Hopefully, I won't lose the idea so I can write it after this one. **

**But anyway, sorry it's been forever. I'm just gonna let you all read now. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chris' POV**

"You're jealous," I said, not making eye contact with Danny. I knew he'd be glaring at me if I had.

"I am _not_ jealous," Danny replied, trying to keep calm with me. It wasn't working so well for him. I could hear the anger in his voice. Maybe I should stop annoying a kid that's already annoyed enough. I mean, it's not every day that a new boy comes and sweeps the two girls you kinda like right off their feet.

"I don't know, dude. I could've sworn your foot wasn't in the middle of the aisle way before Max was passing by," I decided to keep messing with him. I sensed the glare again.

"You have no proof," Danny said smugly. I shook my head.

Earlier that day, Danny had tripped Max in a way that made it look like the kid had just tripped on nothing so he'd look like a fool in front of everyone. Danny had been planning for Cathy and/or Wendy to think that Max was a loser and ditch the new boy for him. Well, that plan didn't work. No one thought Max was a loser. And luckily no one had seen Danny trip him. Except me, but my opinion of him won't change regardless of how stupid his ideas are. That's kind of a given with best friends. But if Cathy or Wendy had caught that detail… things could've gotten a lot more interesting.

"You need a better way to deal with this whole situation," I said, finally looking up at Danny.

"I agree. And I think I have a solution," Danny replied, nodding seriously. "Let's talk about your relationship problems." Danny smiled deviously and it was my turn to glare at him. Of course, the best way to get out of a conversation was to turn the focus on the very person who was talking to you.

"Fine. What?" I sighed.

"What'd she say?" Danny asked, looking generally curious. I knew who he was talking about without him even saying her name.

"She hasn't answered yet," I responded. "But then again, it's only been a day. And I haven't seen her much."

"I think you need to make time to see her," Danny suggested. "Don't be so passive with this. Do you want her to go to the dance with you or not?"

"I do," I answered. "But it's up to her…"

"Hey guys!"

_ Yes…_ I thought at the sound of Cathy's cheerful voice. Now I wouldn't have to listen to Danny going on about everything I do wrong when it comes to girls. And the conversation would now be turned back to Danny's problems because guess who was with Cathy. Actually, let me rephrase that, guess who was holding hands with Cathy.

"What's up guys?" Cathy asked as she and Max walked over the table we were occupying. She looked so happy; her blue eyes were sparkling brighter than I'd ever seen them sparkle.

"English homework," I replied.

"Today's?" Cathy asked with a playfully questioning smile.

"Of course not! Next Thursday's," I replied. Cathy shook her head in mock disappointment.

"Gosh, Chris, how many times do I have to tell you; stop being such an overachiever," Cathy scolded also in a mock disappointed tone.

"Seriously, you're making the rest of us look bad," Max added in the same tone. Danny tensed a little bit at that comment. I, on the other hand, saw that Max was just trying to fit in and joke along.

"So what's up with you two?" I asked.

"Well, I just wanted to come over and say hi," Cathy replied. "And I was also wondering if you guys have seen Sam yet today. I have something… important to tell her."

"I haven't seen her," I said, wondering what Cathy would tell Sam and not Danny and I.

"Danny, have you seen Sam?" Cathy asked, turning her gaze toward the boy who'd been trying to avoid the conversation.

"Nope," Danny answered, refusing to make eye contact with her. He made jealousy really obvious.

"Oh… okay," Cathy said, sounding a little disappointed. "I, uh, I guess I'll see you guys after school?"

"Yeah. See you then," I said in reply with a small smile. Cathy smiled back at me and turned to say something to Danny. But he was still avoiding her gaze. So Cathy and Max walked away in an awkward silence.

"Wow," I said after they were out of earshot.

"What?" Danny asked, finally responding to something.

"I can't believe how jealous you are," I said, shaking my head.

"Oh, you would be jealous too if someone came around and just stole the girl you like," Danny snapped. Then something behind me caught his attention. "Just like that guy over there."

I turned around to see Sam walking with a boy I'd never seen before. And the boy had his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

**!**

**What's gonna happen next? Sorry it's short. **

**Read on!**


	7. Ch 7: She Chose The Other Guy

**Sorry it's been forever since I updated this!**

**I left the last chapter off with somewhat of a cliffhanger. So, let's just go ahead and start this chapter. **

**Enjoy!**

**Chris' POV**

"Wha-what?" I stammered, unable to make sense of what I was seeing.

"That's another guy stealing your girl," Danny said in a slow voice, like I didn't understand what was going on. I could understand the situation fine; I was just having trouble believing it.

"Who even is that?" I asked. "I've never seen him before." The boy with Sam looked our age, and he was at least four or five inches taller then Sam. (Which put him either three or four inches taller than me.) He had sun tanned skin and blonde hair. (I couldn't see his eyes yet.)

"So, do you wanna just sit here and let him walk away with Sam, or do you wanna go over there and beat him up?" Danny asked. I turned to him slowly and glared at him. Danny put on his best innocent face.

"Let's find a happy medium," I replied, getting up and walking over to Sam and the mystery boy. I heard Danny following me.

"Happy medium, ok. What's your plan?" he asked as he caught up to me.

"Ask them what's going on?" I replied with a question.

"Well that's no fun," Danny said, sounding disappointed.

"Whatever. Just come on," I responded as we met up with the duo. "Hey Sam."

"Oh, h-hi guys," Sam said, looking down. She seemed nervous, and upset.

"Who's your friend?" I asked, quickly looking at the guy.

"This is Adrien," Sam answered, still looking down. "Adrien Hyson." I looked at Adrien, and saw his purple eyes gleaming with a wicked accomplishment. Almost like he knew I liked Sam and was purposely trying to take her from me.

"Are you new here?" Danny asked. He looked confused. "I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Yeah. I'm just here for a little while. You won't be seeing much of me in a few days," Adrien replied in a cool voice, his eyes never leaving me.

"Sam, when did you meet this guy?" Danny asked, obviously not sensing the same hostile vibes from this guy as I was. Otherwise he'd sound more hostile himself and much less confused.

"Last night," Sam answered, still avoiding looking at the two of us.

"That's it?" Danny asked. "That's all you're going say? You don't have anything else to tell your best friends?"

"She doesn't have to tell you anything more," Adrien snapped. "You aren't in charge of her."

"And neither are you," I said, realizing that I didn't like this guy and not just because he seemed to have Sam. Something was definitely not right about this guy.

"You'd be surprised," Adrien said, returning his gaze to me, the wicked glint seeming to intensify.

"What are you talking about? Don't you know that possessive relationships never work?" Danny pointed out, still not picking up on the 'there is way more to this than who's dating Sam' vibe.

"Who says I was talking about our relationship?" Adrien replied. That comment hurt. _Our _relationship. That confirmed it; Sam was dating this Adrien guy.

"I'm confused," Danny stated the obvious. "What else could you possibly be talking about?"

"Danny, just drop it, ok?" Sam said, finally looking up. Her eyes looked dull and lifeless. Something was wrong here. "I'm with Adrien now and… and my family is moving away with his in a few days." That comment was shocking.

"What?" Danny and I asked at the same time.

"I'm leaving Single Town in three days," Sam repeated with a little more confidence. (Which was faked by the way.) "And because I'm leaving, I'm quitting the MBC."

"But… Sam… NO! That… that can't be!" Danny stammered, unable to believe what he was hearing. I couldn't believe it either, but I couldn't even speak. Sam was… leaving?

"Yes, Danny. I'm moving away. How can I stay part of something so far away?" Sam asked.

"But Sam, you can't leave," Danny said as if he'd just thought of something really important. "You need to know that…"

"Danny, no matter what you say, I'm leaving and that's the end of it," Sam cut him off. She then proceeded to take off her v-com and handed it to Danny. "I'm sorry."

And with that, Adrien led Sam away. Danny and I stood there in a stunned silence for what felt like forever. Sam and Adrien didn't seem to fade though. And I took that as I sign to make what seemed like one last attempt to win Sam back.

"SAM, WAIT!" I called after her as I chased the duo down. Sam stopped and turned to face me, and so did Adrien. I stopped running when I caught up to them.

"Did you read the letter?" I asked, slightly out of breath.

"The letter?" Sam asked. "No, I never go the chance to. Why, do you know what it said?"

"Well yeah, I wrote it," I admitted, forgetting momentarily that I hadn't told her who it was from initially. "It said…"

"Don't," Adrien said in a cold, hard tone. "She's mine now, and nothing you say will ever change that. You've lost; deal with it." I glared hard at Adrien, letting him know through that glance that nothing he said would stop me.

"The letter said…"

_SMACK!_

And Adrien's fist met my face. The force of the blow knocked me straight to the ground. In fact, I felt the ground before anything else. I didn't even feel the pain where he'd hit me until later.

I'd heard Sam gasp when he'd hit me, and I'd also seen Adrien possessively grip her hand. When I looked up at the two of them, Adrien was glaring at me as though I'd been the one to hit him.

"Sam?" I tried, hating the pleading sound in my voice.

"I'm sorry, Chris. I choose Adrien," Sam said, her tone sad and unreal. I realized later that there had been tears in her eyes as she'd said that. But right at that moment, as I'd watched the girl I'd truly fallen in love with walk away with another guy, I couldn't feel anything. Just the sting of the last words Sam had said. _I choose Adrien._

**I don't actually know if they can take the v-coms off or not. But I have a purpose for it being off later, so yeah. If I made a mistake, I apologize. **

**I really want to know what you all thought of this chapter. I'm not super happy with it to be honest. What to you all think? Reviews would be very much appreciated. **

**Read on!**


	8. Ch 8: Who's Telling The Truth?

**Next Chapter! Yay! It hasn't been months since I posted the last chapter! **

**And so, enjoy!**

**Sam's POV**

"She really did a wonderful job earlier," Adrien told the others later that night. They were having a meeting to see how the plan was going. I've decided that I'm just a prisoner, not a real part of the plan.

"Really? What happened?" Marlena asked, seeming amused.

"She told the boys that her family was moving away with our family. And that was her excuse to quit the MBC; that she was leaving," Adrien explained. "She even took off her communicator and gave it to the brunette one. It was great!"

"But you're forgetting the best part," Nossida said with an evil smirk. "Tell her what happened _after_ all of that." I glared at the winged boy.

"Oh yeah. Then the blunette boy ran after us and tried to convince her to stay. So I hit him," Adrien continued, seeming less excited now. He was looking down, almost as though he were ashamed. "Then Sam told him that she chose me and we left."

"How exciting. But do you think we've shaken them up enough?" Marlena asked. I knew that question was directed toward me, but I didn't want to answer. I didn't want to talk to any of these people ever again. Especially the blonde sitting to my right.

"Not yet. I've dealt with this group before, and they put up a good fight," Nossida answered. "What happened today should put them on a breaking point. What we need now is to tear them apart a little more. Sam mentioned growing tension between Danny and Cathy. Let's make them our next victim."

"Sounds good. I'll go call Axel and give him his directions," Marlena said and began to walk towards the door.

"Axel?" I asked. Marlena turned around to face me.

"Oh yes, we haven't told you about him yet. Axel is the other scout that I told you about. And from the beginning it was his job to help you break the MBC," Marlena explained. "He's out in the field right now and I'm going to tell him to set his sights on Danny and Cathy."

And with that, Marlena left. Now I was alone with the three boys that were on the top of my 'I don't want to be alone with them' list.

"So, what should we talk about now?" Adrien asked.

"I don't know. Sam, what do you think?" Nossida asked in a fake innocent voice. I didn't answer him. That boy really knows how to worsen an already bad situation.

"Come on, Sam. You're going to have to talk to us sometime," Nossida said with the same fake sweetness. "I know you're mad about what happened today. But you can't be mad at Adrien forever."

"You didn't have to hit him," I snapped, mostly just to get Nossida to shut up. Also to let them know what I'd been thinking about ever since it had happened. (Was is five hours now?)

"I know I didn't. And I feel bad about it. But Sam, he's our enemy," Adrien said, trying to reason with me. I looked him right in the eye.

"_Our_ enemy?" I questioned.

"Sam, don't forget you're on _our_ side now. So thus the MBC is _your_ enemy," Nossida said.

"Whatever," I said dismissively.

"Come on, Adrien. Let's go see if Axel needs any help," Nossida said and got up to leave. Adrien gave me one last look; a look that was completely apologetic. Then he left with Nossida, leaving me alone with the silent Penn.

"Well, I guess I'll go too," I sighed and got up to follow the other two.

"Sam, they're lying to you," Penn said suddenly. I stopped and turned to the younger boy. He continued to sit in the same position, staring at the opposite wall.

"What?" I asked, surprised by the sudden outburst.

"They're lying to you. About a lot," Penn repeated, looking down. "Trust me. I know what goes on around here every minute of every day."

Stunned by this, all I could do was stare at Penn. In the one day I'd known him, I'd come to see Penn as the kind of villain that was silently evil. The kind of villain that would keep their plan a secret until the very last moment where they would strike and be victorious. By the words Penn had just said, I was beginning to doubt that theory. But one could never be too quick to judge the character of a bad guy.

"How can I trust that you aren't lying to me?" I finally asked. Penn finally turned to face me with a sad smile.

"You can't," he said plainly. Then, he too got up to leave, but through the door on the opposite side of the room; the same door he'd appeared through on the first night I'd met him.

"Penn, you're hair's a different color," I commented, having just noticed that the smooth, jet-black color it was last night had changed to a medium dark brown shade.

"Yeah. Axel's hair used to be that color. And when I saw him again this morning, I realized that I really don't want to look like Axel anymore," Penn explained. "A little brother can only be so much like his older siblings, you know?"

"Wait, Axel is another brother of yours?" I asked.

"Yeah. He's just a little older than Adrien, but still equates to about your age in human years," Penn continued to explain. "But I won't bore you talking about him. You'll get to meet him here in a day or two."

"You couldn't bore me yet, Penn. I haven't heard you talk once until now," I commented. Penn smiled.

" You can call me Trent if you want, like you call Vincenzio Adrien," he said. "And Sam, don't forget what I told you earlier."

**Cathy's POV**

"So she's… gone?" I asked, sad and confused. The story Danny had just told me seemed so unreal. Sam moving away? Sam quitting the MBC? Sam dating a boy she'd just met? None of that could be real? Could it?

"Pretty much," Danny said sadly. "She said she'd be leaving in three days, but she made it sound like she was leaving tonight." My shoulders slumped a bit. This was upsetting news. I looked down at the abandoned v-com in my hands. The story was true.

"What about the guy that was with her?" I asked, looking up at Danny. His green eyes were sad. And that only made me feel worse. "Anthony?"

"Adrien. And let's not talk about him right now," Danny said, looking worriedly to the side. I followed his gaze to where Chris was sitting not too far away from us. I'd forgotten that he was even here; he hadn't said anything. That was unusual too.

I knew that Chris liked Sam. I knew that seeing the person you like with someone else hurts. And I knew that getting hit by the person that stole your crush and then getting rejected by your crush hurts worse. So I didn't blame Chris for not wanting to say anything.

"Ok," I said in a quiet voice, looking down at Sam's v-com. _I just can't believe she's gone._

"No, let's talk about him." Danny and I both turned to face Chris, his voice surprising the both of us. He stood up, staring at about where the floor met the wall. "Something seemed wrong about him."

"Well yeah, he kinda stole Sam," Danny said.

"Not like that," Chris said in reply. "He seemed to know that I liked her. His eyes were taunting me, then again so were his words. And his fists." Chris' hand absent-mindedly touched the bruise forming on his cheek after he'd said that.

"It seemed like Adrien came to the school today to purposely let us know that Sam was choosing him," he continued. "As though it was a set up."

"A set up?" I asked. "What kind of a set up?"

"Do you remember that alien alert that went off a yesterday?" Chris asked.

"Yeah," I said slowly.

"I think it may have been for him," Chris said, looking up at the wall. "Something seemed unreal about him. And why else would Sam just quit the MBC with no warning what so ever unless somebody else was pulling strings?"

That made sense.

"I see what you're saying," I replied, standing up and moving over to Chris. "And I think it make perfect sense. The only challenge now is figuring out who this Adrien kid is, what he wants with Sam, and where he's hiding."

"And then how to stop him," Danny added, standing up and moving over to us too. "And we have to do all of this in three days. Less actually."

"We've done it before in less," I commented with a confident smile.

"Sam's not getting away from us that easily," Danny said, smiling too.

"You make it sound like she wants to leave," I responded, giving Danny a look.

"Well, at least it's nice to see you two getting along," Chris said, finally making eye contact with me, and then Danny. "It'll be so much easier fighting an alien if you two are getting along."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Nothing," Chris muttered. "Let's just start researching Adrien…"

"Hello?" a voice asked from the doorway. The three of us turned to see Max standing there, looking a little confused.

"Max," I said happily.

"Sorry to just burst in here, but your grandpa said just to come on back," Max replied. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, no it's okay. Come on in," I said, gesturing for Max to come in further. I knew that Chris wasn't going to be too happy with me for letting Max delay our investigation, but he'd have to forgive me for it.

"Thanks. Sorry to just pop in like this," Max said to Chris and Danny, coming further into the clubhouse and closing the door behind him. Good thing we hadn't changed it into MBC headquarters yet!

"It's fine," Chris said. Maybe he wasn't going to be mad at me for putting the investigation on hold. Or maybe Chris is a better actor than I thought.

"Why are you here?" Danny asked sharply.

"Cathy offered to help catch me up in history," Max answered. "And we decided that tonight would be a good time."

"It's not looking that way anymore," Danny said.

"Why? What's wrong?" Max asked, looking at me worriedly.

"Well, we just found out that our friend Sam is moving away. And that she's dating this jerk that none of us have never met," I explained the situation, leaving out all of the alien stuff.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Max said, taking my hand lightly. "Sam was such a nice girl. I would've liked to get to know her better. Do you know where she's moving to?"

"No. She didn't say. Which is surprising. Sam tells me everything," I replied, feeling my throat tightening with each word. The reality of all of this was slowly catching up to me and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. "She was my best friend."

Max pulled me closer into a hug. I didn't like the idea of crying in front of him, but he did know how to make me feel better. And I really liked the way he was holding me right now. But I figured that the best thing right now was to pull it together. I pulled away from Max.

"Are you okay?" he asked, wiping a tear away from my cheek.

"Yeah," I replied.

"It is strange that she didn't tell us where she was moving to," Chris said suddenly. I looked over at him. He looked back at me. "And that she didn't tell you any of this, Cath."

"Chris, what happened?" Max asked, his eyes widening in concern as he saw the bruise.

"He got hit for trying to steal another guy's girl," Danny said, glaring at Max. Well that was weird.

"I wasn't trying to steal her," Chris stated quietly.

"Then why did you say that?" Max asked Danny.

"As a warning," Danny replied.

"A warning? For what?" Max asked, who seemed to be getting just a tad annoyed.

"Stick around for a few more minutes and you'll find out," Danny answered.

**!**

**What will happen next? Where's Axel? And will the MBC be able to take another shock from the bad guys?**

**Find out!**

**Read on! =D**


	9. Ch 9: Taking Action

**Chapter 9! Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. It's been a busy few days. And I needed to find the right way to play things out with this story. I don't want to screw it up by rushing and ruining a part of it.**

**So thus, I give you all, chapter 9. **

**Enjoy!**

**Danny's POV**

"Is that a threat?" Max asked coolly, crossing his arms and giving me one of those 'confused even though I totally know what's going on' smirks.

"Depends. Are you going to take it?" I asked. I saw a quick flash of something shine through Max's eyes. Was that fear? Or amusement?

"Depends. Do you really think you could hit me?" Max asked in reply. I paused. "I mean, I'm sure you could hurt me. But that doesn't mean you will." I stopped to think about his words. "If my impression of you is correct, then you won't really hit me. You're not that kind of guy." I thought about that. Max didn't think I was the kind of guy that would seriously hurt him. Interesting…. The Danny

may have just hatched himself a plan!

"You don't think I can do it?" I asked, stepping closer to the kid. "You think I'd back down?"

"Yes," Max answered, plain and simple.

"You're right," I replied, smiling like nothing had ever happened. Smiling like we were buddies. "I'm all talk. I'd never hit actually hurt anyone." Too bad we _weren't_ buddies.

"Really?" Max asked, sounding generally surprised.

"Nope!" I responded, punching him across the face. (Deception: best fighting tactic ever invented!)

"DANNY!" Cathy screeched as Max fell to the floor from the force of the blow. She hadn't seen through my little charade. And based on the sharp inhale of breath behind me, Chris didn't see it coming either.

Max sat up slowly, hand to his cheek. There was a red mark where I'd hit him and he was breathing hard, the wind must've been knocked out of him wen he'd hit the floor. I'd got him good.

"Guess your impression of me was wrong," I said, smirking down at him.

"Then let me return the favor," Max said through gritted teeth as he grabbed my ankle and pulled me down. "By showing you that you aren't the only one with a few tricks up your sleeve." Luckily, I was able to break the fall with my arms before my head smacked the floor. My arms hurt now, though. So did my ankle.

Max loomed over me, preparing to throw a punch, so I kicked him in the chest before he had the chance. I heard his breath leave him that time as he fell backwards. He was down now, leaving me to continue the attack.

But of course, Chris and Cathy had to be the better people in the situation and break up the fight before I could punch the other side of his face.

"STOP IT!" Cathy cried, rushing over to Max and wrapping her arms around him from behind, preventing him from lunging at me again. Chris grabbed a hold of my shoulders to keep me from fighting back.

"What are you two doing?" Cathy asked, looking back and forth between the two of us. "You're fighting over nothing!"

"It's not exactly nothing, Cathy," I commented. "I'm surprised that you don't know what this fight is really over." She looked at me with such confusion, her blue eyes wide and innocent. She really had no idea that we were fighting over her. Then again, based on the context before the fight, how could she have known?

"Well, that doesn't matter. All that matters is that you two quit fighting about it. Violence is never the answer," Cathy continued her little post-fight speech. I felt myself start to relax out of fight mode. Max gently pulled Cathy's arms off him. He'd calmed down too.

Turning to Cathy, he said: "I think I had better head home. We'll work on the history another time," He gave her a sad yet warm smile. (How is that even possible?) "It's kinda obvious that I'm not wanted here."

"Oh… okay," Cathy replied, sounding a little disappointed. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school then."

"Of course," Max said, smiling again as he took her hand. "Until then." Max gently kissed Cathy's hand and began heading for the door. He didn't look back at me once. As soon as the door closed and Max was out of earshot, a tense silence fell over the room.

"That was interesting," Chris said after a few moments. I could tell that the silence was the most awkward for him seeing as though he wasn't involved in our

little love triangle.

"I can't believe you did that, Danny," Cathy said emotionlessly, staring at the door.

"Did you really expect me not hit him?" I asked.

"Yes. I didn't think you'd run so far with your feelings as to let them influence you to hurt another person," Cathy answered, her tone angry. That wasn't looking too good.

"And what 'feelings' might you be referring to?" I asked in reply.

"Jealousy. You're obviously victim to jealousy," Cathy replied, turning to face me. "I saw the way you were looking at Max when he was with Wendy. You're so jealous of him that you probably don't even know you're jealous!" So she _had_ noticed that the fight was really over a girl! She just had the _wrong_ girl.

"I am not jealous of Max Kelly!" I exclaimed, not explaining my inner thoughts. Cathy crossed her arms and gave me a look.

"Hey Chris, is Danny jealous?" she asked, her tone like that of a younger sister telling on their older brother.

"I'm staying out of this," Chris replied, moving to the other side of the clubhouse where he tried to look uninterested by picking up his book and sitting down on the floor. Gah, I hate it when people play Switzerland….

"Fine. Be like that. I can prove it myself that Danny's jealous with a capitol J," Cathy said.

"Cathy, for the last time, I am not jealous," I repeated. "And I won't say it again. Because, as my friend, you should trust me."

"I don't know, can I trust you? Cause last time someone trusted you, they got punched in the face," Cathy responded, sounding ever more annoyed than before.

"You don't trust me? Fine. Then I guess I'll just see you tomorrow," I said in reply and walked right out the door.

**So Danny pulled a dramatic exit. And he got to hit Max. **

**How will this effect everything else that's going on?**

**Find out in the next chapter! (Possibly 2, we'll see!)**

**Read on!**


	10. Ch 10: How Many POVs Can We Get In 1 Ch?

**Once again, sorry these chapters are being published inconsistently. Life's being busy. **

**Anyway, all of the reviews are making me happy. Please keep reviewing! I take all of your opinions and suggestions and everything else into consideration to help write a story that you'll all enjoy as well as I enjoy writing. So please keep reviewing!**

**Now, onward to chapter 10! =)**

**Enjoy!**

**Chris' POV**

It feels like the world is falling apart. Isn't it weird how changing one thing can cause everything else to break? It's just like dominos; when one falls, they all fall.

Sam quitting the MBC and announcing the move were like the instigator. Then Danny couldn't take his jealousy anymore and hit Max. And now Cathy and Danny probably won't speak to each other for a week, maybe two. What will happen after that? Who knows.

"I don't get it," Cathy said quietly, still watching the door. She looked like she was hoping that Danny would come back. But he wouldn't. Not tonight.

"Which part?" I asked.

"Why everything's going wrong," she replied. "Sam's leaving. Danny's mad at me. Max is probably a little mad at me too. It feels like I'm not in control of my own life anymore!" I knew exactly how she felt, but now wasn't the time to deal with that. What she'd just said made something click in my mind.

"Cathy, I've got it!" I exclaimed, jumping up from inspiration.

"What's it?" Cathy asked, running over to me.

"Adrien's controlling Sam! I know we kind of figure that earlier, but what if he has a hold on her mind or something? Maybe that's why she quit, she was being controlled by an alien!" I explained.

"Do you really think so?" Cathy asked, sounding hopeful. "There's definitely some kind of alien out there that can control people's minds. I'll ask Grandpa about it. He'll know. I'm so happy we figured this out!"

"Well, we might've figured it out," I corrected. "We don't know if Adrien's controlling her mind, we just know that he's somehow making her do what he wants. He very well could just be blackmailing her or something."

"But we don't even know this Adrien guy. How could he have anything to blackmail her with?" Cathy asked. That was a very true point. Unless…

"What if he's working with someone else? Someone else who does know us?" I suggested.

"That's also true," Cathy agreed. "So we know have two theories. It's just a matter of figuring out which one's right."

"Yep. And the only way to get that done is to start working," I replied.

"We'll start working tomorrow. It's nine o'clock. And this won't be quick work. We don't want your parents wondering where you are at one in the morning," Cathy said logically. Yeah, that was a true statement.

"Okay. Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I replied, heading for the door. "Wait, one more thing. What were you gonna tell Sam earlier? When you asked us if we knew where she was?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Cathy answered, shaking her head like it really was no big deal. "I just wanted to tell her that Max asked me to the dance on Friday."

"I see," I said in reply, not quite sure how to answer. I guess this really was something to tell Sam, not Danny and I. "Well, good for you. See you tomorrow."

**Cathy's POV**

It's funny to see how differently boys and girls react to things.

After Chris left I took one last look around the clubhouse before switching the light off and leaving myself. It had grown dark outside. But that was normal for a cool night in spring. I began to walk towards the house when I heard a noise coming from the bushes next to the clubhouse. I looked over to where the noise came from. It looked like someone or something was struggling against someone or something else. Well that was odd….

"CATHY RUN FOR IT!" I heard before a red beam of light flashed and everything went black.

**Danny's POV**

"CATHY RUN FOR IT!" I screamed before Max could fire. But I was too late. Cathy had been knocked unconscious and now fell into a heap on the cool grass. I got up and ran over to her.

"I told you that you weren't the only one with a few tricks up your sleeve," Max said as he walked over to where I was, kneeling next to my unconscious friend.

"What do you want with her?" I asked icily, glaring up at him. Max smirked wickedly before answering.

"It has nothing to do with either of you personally, or Chris and Sam for that matter. I'm simply following my directions," he explained.

"Directions? From who?" I asked.

"Or you'll find out soon enough," Max replied. I looked back at Cathy. It looked like she was asleep, not knocked out by a psycho maniac.

"And what did these directions tell you to do?" I asked, looking back up to see a red light. Then nothing.

**Chris' POV**

"CATHY RUN FOR IT!" I heard three houses down from where the Smiths lived. I ran back. That was never a good sign. And it was Danny who'd screamed it. Which meant that he'd never left Cathy's house. Which meant that Max probably hadn't left either. And that something else had been there the whole time.

I ran into the backyard just in time to see Max holding a gun out to Danny, who was kneeling next to a hopefully unconscious Cathy. The gun fired a bright red light, so bright that I looked away. I looked back to see Danny fall to the ground. So I did what any team member would do in this situation: powered up.

"My directions were to destroy the MBC," Max said, smiling.

"So you're behind this?" I asked. Max looked up at me, surprised.

"You're still here?" he asked.

"I heard the screaming," I replied. "Now answer the question; are you behind this?"

"Nope. I'm just a part of it," Max answered, the smile returning. "And so are you. And Sam. And these two." He gestured to Danny and Cathy.

"What did you do to them?" I asked.

"Don't worry. They're just unconscious," Max answered, looking down at his gun, which I noticed was now pointing in my direction. "They'll be fine when they wake up." I took out my blaster and pointed it at him.

"Don't get the idea that you're getting out of here easily," I said. "I'm not going down without a fight. You caught them by surprise. You don't have that strategy anymore."

"But I do," another voice said from behind me as I felt a strong force push me over. The blaster flew out of my hand as I fell hard on the ground. I looked up to find someone else reaching down and grabbing the weapon.

"You know, I kind of want to go all evil villain monologue here, but I'm not going to. There are too many great ones out there. I don't want to rip off any of them," the new guy said, his voice sounding familiar. I looked up to see a very familiar face standing next to Max; Nossida.

"But I am going to take a line from a villain monologue because I want to test how smart you are," he continued, staring me straight in the eye. "'…Prove that true love conquers all.'"

"What's that from?" Max asked him, confused. 

"You don't need to know that. He's the one that has to figure it out. Just come on!" Nossida said, pulling out a small blue cube and pressed the top of it. And with that, they were gone, along with Cathy and Danny. And now I have to figure everything out on my own.

**Anyone know where that little quote's from? (Hint, it's Disney.)**

**Anyway, what's gonna happen now? Chris is on his own to save everyone else. Can he do it?  
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**Find out in the next chapter! (Or two. It will take more.)**

**Read on!**


	11. Ch 11: An 8, No, 12 Piece Puzzle

**Chapter 11! Yay! **

**So I have some pieces of our dramatic conclusion decided, but other pieces are missing. Let's see how this puzzle's gonna come together. =)**

**Also, the answer to the monologue question was Maleficent's monologue from Sleeping Beauty. **

**So, without any further ado, (and hopefully less spelling errors than I've been making writing just these notes!), onward to chapter 11!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chris' POV**

"I still think it has something to do with the movie itself," John suggested. I'd recruited him along with Mr. Smith to help figure everything out; starting with that riddle.

"No, I don't think so," I replied. "I'm leaning more towards Mr. Smith's idea of looking closer into the words."

"Well, most bad guys usually do something like that," Mr. Smith added. "It probably indicates their plan or leads to their hideout."

"But why would they tell him that?" John asked, gesturing to me. "He's their enemy! Why would they want him to know what they're doing or where they're hiding."

"Maybe they want him to know where they are or what they're up to," Mr. Smith answered, analyzing the situation a little more.

"Well, it could definitely be a challenge of some sort," I said. "The monologue the line was from was about how true love is supposed to conquer all, but the witch wasn't going to let that happen. Maybe we're supposed to derive that, the plan, from the monologue itself and then we can get the location from the line."

"Wait, I lost you. What plan?" John asked.

"Nossida wants to fight, I think," I answered. "I can't say why or what Adrien's got to do with it. But I'm sure there's a fight involved."

"Then let's work on getting a location from the line," Mr. Smith said in a serious tone. "What are some key words in the line?"

"Prove. True love. Conquers," I listed. "Those could all mean something."

"Well, let's try it. Think about places close by that could be linked to such words," Mr. Smith instructed. "They must be close by if both Max and Adrien were able to get to the school so easily."

So we got to work brainstorming. There had to be someplace nearby that linked to one of those words.

Prove? Um... where was someplace that involved proving anything? A courtroom? No, that wasn't it. Prove was out.

True love? You had to be truthful in a courtroom. NO! They were not hiding in a courtroom! I have to lose that idea! Moving on, anything else to do with love? Well, the park is kind of romantic. Maybe they're in the park somewhere? Maybe.

Conquers? This one should be a little easier than prove. Maybe they're in a museum nearby. There have been multiple times in history where someone has conquered someone else. Now, just for fun, how does this one relate to a courtroom…

"I got it! What about Lake Agápi?" John asked. "It's about thirty minutes away from here, and Agápi means love in Greek."

"John, have I ever told you that you're a genius? Cause you are," I said. "That makes perfect sense. It's close, its name is love. That's gotta be it!"

"Well done, John. Now that we've figured that out, let's get over to that lake and save the rest of our MBC team," Mr. Smith said.

"Maybe we should wait till tomorrow. It's late and Mom would be really suspicious if we didn't come home till like two in the morning," John suggested.

"Yeah. And there's something I have to do before we go find them," I added. I didn't want to tell them what it was exactly. Then again, my brother and Mr. Smith wouldn't call me a love sick freak for wanting to still see Sam one more time.

"Then it's settled; we'll go tomorrow," Mr. Smith concluded.

**Sam's POV**

"I don't think they're coming tonight," Adrien said after a long silence. I was outside sitting on the small, grassy hill that the house sat on. It was like a small yard that declined into a beach. It was nice.

The whole view was nice. It was dark, like the first night I'd came here. The moon was reflecting off the dark water. The sound of the small waves hitting the shore was very calming. If only villains didn't live here…

"Do you think the hint you gave them was too hard, Nossida?" Max asked. I still couldn't believe that Max was Axel. He'd seemed so sweet, so innocent, so _human!_ But I guess that's why they had him break apart the MBC, because he could do it without detection.

"No. He'll be able to figure it out eventually. He's the smart one," Nossida answered.

"Well he doesn't have that much time. Phase two starts tomorrow," Max said.

"Ok. Then phase two starts without Chris finding us. Big deal," Adrien said in response.

"But we wanted to fight him. We had everything already planned out," Nossida explained. "Every last detail."

"You've been trying to anticipate a fight between the three of you?" I asked, pointing to Nossida and Max.

"No. We've been trying to anticipate a fight between all twelve of us," Max corrected.

"There's nine of us, idiot," Nossida replied. "Three of them, five of us, and one of her," he pointed to me.

"Seriously, Ax. You're 27 and you can't even count right?" Adrien asked, using a nickname a presumed came from his alien name.

"Shut up," Max snapped. I had to admit that even though I hated the guts of all three of these guys, they had their comical moments when they almost seemed… nice.

"So do we go back inside and call it a night?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, let's call it," Max replied, getting up and heading for the door. Nossida followed him. I stayed back and looked out over the lake one last time.

"Ready to go home?" Adrien asked. His voice was gentle, almost as though he really did love me. And he might've. I just don't love him.

"Yeah. Let's go," I replied, walking toward the dock.

_Chris, you better get here soon, _I thought. _Time's running out. And you're our last hope._

**Yes, time is now of the essence. Will the day be saved?  
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**Find out soon in some upcoming chapter!**

**Read on!**


	12. Ch 12: One Last Shot

**I wasn't happy with the overall chapter 11. So let's make the overall chapter 12 better! **

**I don't have anything else to say. **

**So enjoy chapter 12!**

**Sam's POV**

Thursday, the day of whatever horrid plan Marlena had was going into effect. The day I had to leave my life and go live with a group of evil aliens. Today was going to be great.

How on Earth had I got my parents along with this you might ask? Well, let's just say that without even telling me, Nossida had pulled out some gadget that cleared the whole thing with them. Some how, they knew that I was going to marry an alien and leave Earth forever. And they were okay with it. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Nossida?

I'd also begun to figure that I was never getting out of this. After they dragged Cathy and Danny in last night, I knew we were done for. Not that I don't think Chris is capable of saving us, because I know he totally is. It's just that he has less than 24 hours now and he doesn't even know where we're hiding. Ha, they have me considering myself as one of them now. Wonderful.

So here I was, simply sitting on my bed, thinking about all of this stuff when I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in," I called. Sometimes I really wish I could see through walls because if I could, I wouldn't have said anything. Then my alibi could've stayed in tact. Because the person now opening my door was the very person I didn't want to see; Chris.

"Hey Sam," he said, seeming kind of nervous. It's not that I didn't _want_ to see him, I just didn't want my story to crumble down and for Nossida to push the button and… yeah.

"Chris, what are you doing here?" I said the first thing that came to mind.

"I came to say goodbye to you," he answered, taking a quick glance around my room. "But by the looks of things, your plans have changed." He didn't phrase it as a question, but I felt the need to answer.

"I'm still leaving. I just don't know when now," I answered as honestly as possible.

"I see," Chris replied, looking down as if trying to find something to say. He looked so adorable when he was nervous.

"You're not one of them, Sam. No matter what they tell you." This caught me off guard. How could he possibly have known?

"What?" I asked in a whisper. Chris locked eyes with me. There was a determined desperation within those crystal blue orbs.

"You are not one of them," Chris repeated.

"What do you know?" I asked, becoming defensive. I didn't want him to make me say anything. And I was scared that he would. If only he knew what I said could cost his life…

"Not much, but enough to know that they're forcing you into doing things you don't want to," Chris replied, taking a step towards me. "And from that, I've concluded that they've convinced you that you are one of them."

"They haven't convinced me of anything," I responded, deciding reluctantly that the only way to get Chris out of this alive was to kick him out. And my way of doing that was to start getting angry with him.

"Sam, don't lie to me," Chris replied. "They've forced you to join them and they're starting to make you think you're like them. But you're not."

"And how would you know?" I snapped, getting up and walking towards him. "How would you know that I'm not like them?"

"Because I've known you since we were five," Chris replied calmly.

"Things change. People change. I've changed," I said back. "I chose to join them, and you can't change that. Deal with it."

"I didn't come here to change your mind about anything," Chris replied. "But…"

"Then why did you come? Thought I'd give something away that would help you destroy our plans?" I interrupted, feeling powerful. Using anger was a tactic that really got your adrenaline rushing.

"No, Sam. I came here to tell you that…"

"Don't. I won't tell you anything, and you can't change anything. So stop wasting both of our time and get out," I interrupted him again, starting to feel a little repetitive.

"You want me gone? Fine," Chris replied, giving up on whatever he'd come for. "Just answer me this: Yes or no?"

"What?" I asked softly, forgetting my angry approach.

"Have you read the letter yet?" he asked in reply. The letter! I'd completely forgotten about it!

"No," I answered.

"Then forget it," Chris responded. "Goodbye." And with that he left, and I couldn't find the will to run after him and drag him back in here and tell him everything. Cause doing that would cost us his life.

**Ehh, this chapter's okay in my opinion. I promise a better chapter 13! **

**I'm calling this a fluff chapter.**

**Read on!**


	13. Ch 13: They Aren't All Bad

**I haven't been crazy about my last 2 chapters. And I promised a good 13. **

**Sorry updates have been so slow. It's been a really busy couple of weeks for me. **

**So, here's chapter 13. Make of it what you will.**

**Cathy's POV**

"So what do I do now?" Penn asked.

"You take a card from the pile," I answered.

"Why?" Penn asked, seeming even more confused. "He told me to go fish. I may not know a lot about Earth, but I do know that picking up a card is definitely not fishing." I laughed. Danny shook his head.

"Who knew teaching someone how to play go fish would be this hard," Danny commented jokingly. "We could've just taught him how to play BS; you just lie about whatever card you're putting down and hope you don't get caught."

"Great. Just what we need; more lying," Penn said, losing his usual spark. Ever since we'd been captured, Danny and I had been 'hanging out' in a room with Penn. He actually seemed nice. Not faking it like his brother, or brother_s_. Penn seemed like a little kid mixed up in a tangle of screwed up adults; even though Max and Adrien were our age, they seemed a lot older.

Never once in our short time together had Penn said anything negative, or anything about this evil plan of theirs.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, troubled by what he'd said.

"There's a lot of lying going on here," Penn explained. "It's becoming some what of a game: which lie will unravel first. Or who's gonna get burned when this is all over." Penn looked down. Something else was bothering him.

"Who do you think will be that one?" Danny asked. "The one that gets burned?"

"My guess would be Sam," Penn answered, still looking down. "Or Chris depending on what happens. Or me." He looked up at us sadly, his eyes locking on mine. He knew something we didn't. And that something was killing him.

"What do you mean by…"

But the door opening and Sam coming in cut me off. She'd been hanging out with us a lot too. And it was the real Sam, not the crazy one that quit the MBC.

"Sam? Where were you?" Danny asked.

"At home," Sam answered, her voice quiet.

"What happened?" I asked. I knew something was wrong. I couldn't tell if the boys could. Maybe it's a girl thing.

"Chris came over," Sam replied, still quiet.

"And…?" Danny prompted. Yeah, he had no clue t=she was upset. Oh Daniel… what are we going to do with you?

"I let him leave without telling him anything," Sam admitted, tears starting to slide down her cheeks. I ran over to her and wrapped my arms around her. "Now he'll never find us! And the world's gonna be destroyed!"

"Not necessarily," Penn piped up. "I don't think Mom intends to destroy the planet exactly."

"Why didn't you tell him anything?" Danny asked.

"I couldn't because…" Sam stopped midsentence. Almost like she wasn't allowed to tell us the truth.

"Because…?" Danny prompted.

"Because Nossida put these things in you two and Chris that would kill you three with the touch of a button," Sam admitted. "That's why I haven't been talking to you three; in fear that I'd say something wrong and cost you your lives. It's okay now because you two know about this, but I still can't tell Chris anything. Cause I don't want to lose you three." I hugged her tighter.

"I'll be back in a little while," Penn said suddenly and stood up, heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked. Penn turned around in the doorway and looked me straight in the eye.

"I have to go make sure the plan is still on for tonight," he said. And by the gleam in his eyes, I knew that there was a deeper meaning to that. What that was, I didn't know.

**Penn's POV**

I had only one shot at this. I knew that I could only be missing from the house for so long before Axel or Adrien found out I had left. And they'd know exactly where I was going. And they'd come after me. Or worse…

I shrugged off all those ideas and ran down the street I'd been looking for straight to the second house on the left. I knocked on the door.

"Hello?" a younger boy who looked a lot like my 'target' per say asked after he'd opened the door.

"Hey. Is your brother home?" I asked, in a bit of a hurry.

"Yeah. Why?" the boy asked. He seemed a little nervous and wary of me. Good. That means he knows not to talk to strangers.

"I know how to help him save the world," I replied. "Get Danny and Cathy back, save Sam, all of it." The young boys eyes widened. Now he got it.

"Hold on a sec," he said and ran further into the house. He returned a moment later with the guy I was after.

"John says you know how to help me save the day?" Chris phrased it as a question, looking at me with unsure eyes. I smiled.

"Not just the day," I said. "But the world, your friends, and the girl you love." Chris smiled back slowly.

"I'm in."

**Action's gonna happen in the next chapter! I promise you that!**

**I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. I enjoyed it.**

**Review please! I enjoy your comments!**

**Read on!**


	14. Ch 14: The Battle Part 1

**Here we go people. The dramatic part of the dramatic conclusion. I have a feeling this could last a chapter or two. We'll see. It all depends how much suspense I feel like adding to the end and if I want to plague you all with a cliffhanger or not. We'll see!**

**So, here we go with chapter 14!**

**Sam's POV**

_He's not coming._ That's the only thought that was running through my head. We were standing in a room I'd never been in before on the fifth floor of their building. The room was large and mostly empty. Widows made up three of the four walls, and the ceiling to the room was the ceiling to the whole building. The only things in the room were a couch and two cardboard boxes. My guess was that they never even used this floor.

"Tonight, our plan to conquer the Earth goes into action," Marlena announced. "Everyone knows what they're doing, correct?"

"Yes," Max and Nossida replied. Adrien had been given the task of finding Penn. He was still missing from when he'd left randomly earlier. I was worried about him. In the past few days, I'd come to see Penn as my own little brother.

"Are the prisoners still secured downstairs?" Marlena asked.

"Yep. There's no way they're getting out of that room," Max answered.

Adrien came running up from the stairs, alone.

"I couldn't find him anywhere," he said, shaking his head. "He's not here."

"Oh that boy," Marlena sighed. "We'll just continue on without him. Nossida, do you have the device." Oh great, Nossida has yet another device. This plan just keeps getting better and better.

"Of course I do," Nossida replied, pulling out a small, ruby red blaster looking thing. He handed it to Marlena, and she examined it closely.

"And you're sure this is the right one?" she asked, her eyes still glued to the device.

"Yes. The red one puts a control on the mind. The purple one poisons. The blue one freezes. The black one kills. The yellow one paralyzes. The…"

"We don't need to know what they all do! Just that one," Max snapped.

"But it's good that he knows them so well. It gives me more confidence that this one's right," Marlena commented. "And now, I'm going to hook this up to the magnifier and blast it all over the world! And thus, everyone's minds will be mine to control, thus world domination!"

"Not if I can help it!"

And I'm not even joking I literally jumped for joy, (or was that from a shock?), at the sound of the voice of that sudden outburst.

**Chris' POV**

"And now, I'm going to hook this up to the magnifier and blast it all over the world! And thus, everyone's minds will be mine to control, thus world domination," the one Penn told me was named Marlena, a.k.a. his mother, said. I found that a good time to reveal myself.

"Not if I can help it!" I cried, appearing from the stairwell. After Adrien had gone up that last time, Penn and I had snuck behind him and had been waiting just before the top for the right moment to strike. And I felt that that moment was now.

They all jumped when they saw/heard me. And I have to admit that right there in that moment, I felt outnumbered. Danny and Cathy were nowhere to be seen. I didn't know who Sam would fight with. And there were at least four determined bad guys standing in front of me.

This was going to be, if nothing else, interesting.

**Sam's POV**

"And who might you be?" Marlena asked, walking away from the window. Her hands fell to her sides as she strode towards Chris. I suddenly felt glad that I hadn't screamed his name when he came in, that would've given everything away. Then again, Marlena may have already known exactly who he was.

"The last member of the MBC that you haven't captured yet," Chris replied, his blaster pointed at her.

"Ah, so you're the one that Adrien hit," Marlena said in an amused tone. She glided closer to Chris, examining him. "You are slightly more attractive than the other one. In my perspective anyway. And you must be pretty brave running in here alone. Tell me, how did you find this place?"

Chris hesitated. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Nossida gave me a clue last night. And I was able to decode it with the help of my brother and Cathy's grandfather," Chris answered finally. Marlena nodded.

"Ok. That sounds feasible," she remarked. "So now that you're here, what do you plan to do?"

"Well, stop you," Chris replied plainly. There wasn't a better answer than that.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Marlena asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Chris answered in reply. I really hoped he had a plan. Otherwise, the world was doomed. I sure hope Chris knows that.

**Nossida's POV**

"I have to admit that I'm quite glad to see you, Chris," I said, stepping forward. "I'm glad my little hint proved helpful."

"It was. Now why did you want to lead me here?" Chris asked. I smiled and walked closer to him.

"I thought it would be more fun if you were here to watch us win," I answered. "You know, it'd be a little more fulfilling to us."

"You aren't going to win," Sam said. I turned toward her. So did everyone else. She looked suddenly less sure of herself, but refound her confidence quick. "Chris is here now, and he will stop you."

"Oh. How cute. She's sticking up for her little boyfriend," Max scoffed.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Sam snapped. Then she thought back over what she'd said. "Yet," she whispered.

"Do you really think that human can stop us?" Max asked, striding over to Sam. "You think he can defeat us when there are five of us and one of him?"

"Yes," Sam answered. Max motioned for Adrien to come closer. Adrien came with a little reluctance. The poor guy. He really does love Sam. She just doesn't love him because he's messed up in this evil plan of his mothers. He really is just as bad as her, though. Love softens him up a bunch.

"Do you hear that, Vince? She's putting her faith in another guy. Isn't she engaged to you?" Max asked, obviously trying to provoke Adrien into his real self. I don't blame him. I wish I'd thought of that.

"Yes, yes she is," Adrien whispered.

"Then why don't we do something about that?" Max said, turning his gaze back to Sam. "Our planet doesn't take kindly to people who are disloyal to those they are set to marry." Sam was starting to look scared. Good.

Max grabbed a hold of her shoulders. Then his one hand tightly held onto the side of her face. "Get where I'm going with this, honey?"

**Chris' POV**

"Don't you tough her!" I cried, taking out my freeze blaster and shooting it at him on full blast. Max was pushed to the side by the blow and seemed to have been frozen pretty good. Adrien looked at Max, then me. Then I froze him too. I went to aim for Nossida, but he's just a little too quick for that.

**Sam's POV**

In the time it took for Chris to shoot Max and Adrien, Nossida had backed up enough to get a running start to leap in the air and spread his wings. He was now aiming at Chris for an aerial attack. But Chris saw him just in him and went down on his knees in a defensive maneuver. Just as Nossida came down on him, Chris kicked his legs in the air so Nossida met his feet and went flying to the other wall from the force he'd planned to use to hurt my blue ranger.

Nossida slammed into the wall, then quickly jumped back to his feet. Chris got up too, then noticed his blaster a little ways away form him. He'd dropped it when he'd blocked Nossida's first attack. Nossida realized he'd dropped it too, and was darting towards it just as Chris was. Nossida was able to kick it farther away before Chris could grab it, and as Chris watched the blaster slide away, Nossida kicked him square in the chest.

I heard Chris' breath leave him as he went flying back into the wall. Nossida went in on him again. But I didn't see what happened next because something else caught my eye; Marlena hooking the red gun up to the magnifier. So, I picked up the freeze blaster at my feet and shot it at her. Or her hands more so than her.

She dropped the gun and glared at me. I stood frozen like I'd been the one who'd been hit with the freeze ray.

"You stupid girl," she hissed. "That was a very unwise move."

"Really? Because I think that was the best move I've made in a long time," I replied, feeling like my old self again. Marlena dashed for the gun, but I was quick to freeze her before she got there. I guess she hadn't expected that. Most villains don't. And now Marlena was frozen like Man and Adrien.

Coming to think of it, they wouldn't be frozen for much longer. So I shot them both again. Chris was fine only holding off Nossida. Speaking of that, I turned back to the boys to find them literally neck and neck on the ground not too far from where they'd just been.

Chris was flat on the ground, his hands around Nossida's neck, while Nossida held his neck just pinning him down by kneeling one leg on his chest. I don't know what I'd missed, but I was guessing it had been pretty intense.

But I'd tuned in at a good time, because just then Chris released his right hand from Nossida's neck and whipped a piece of broken glass at the bird creature. The glass nicked Nossida's cheek, but also pierced his wing. Nossida yelped in pain, and jumped away from Chris. I could see a thin line of blood appearing on his cheek and he was clutching his wing desperately.

I looked back to Chris, who sat up, breathing hard. There was broken glass littering the floor by him. Wait, what had broken? I looked to see a hole broken in the window. I had to ask Chris about what had happened there later.

But I didn't have the time just yet, because in ran Penn with Cathy and Danny.

"What's going on? What've we missed?" Danny asked, ready for action.

"Quite a lot, I think," Cathy replied, looking around at everything.

"Penn?" Nossida questioned, looking up from his injury. "You're, you're helping them?"

"Uh-hu," Penn nodded. Nossida's eyes turned hard.

"I think you've made a big mistake Penn," the bird creature said darkly, producing the green button from his pocket. "Cathy, Danny, you've come just in time."

And with that, Nossida's finger pressed the button.

…

**Read on.**


	15. Ch 15: The Battle Part 2

**I left it off with a cliffhanger. So let's just pick up right where we left off.**

**Enjoy.**

**Sam's POV**

"!" I screamed, darting forward to stop the inevitable. But it was too late. The button was pressed, my friends were as good as dead. I feel to my knees, tears falling from my eyes.

But Chris, Danny, and Cathy remained fine. In fact, they seemed more worried about me than anything else. I looked up to find nothing changed. I looked around in confusion. My friends were fine. I looked at Nossida, who was watching me like the others, less concerned though.

"He lied to you Sam," Penn said suddenly. His voice sounded strained. I looked up to see him, his eyes shining from tears. "He had only one of the little purple balls and one of the red. He gave the red to you. And the purple…" Penn couldn't even finish the sentence. He didn't have the strength, he fell to his knees, clutching his chest.

Nossida has used the Glaciolus on Penn.

I got up and ran forward to Penn. Cathy had knelt down next to him too. I wrapped my arms around him tightly.

"Penn, no," I whispered. "Penn, please. Don't do this!"

"I wish… I wasn't," he managed to say staring at me. His green eyes looked so young and innocent. And sad.

"How could you be cruel enough to do this to him?" Cathy cried at Nossida. "He thought you were his friend!"

"Oh please. Penn was never one of us," Nossida replied. "And I don't feel remorse, Rhapsodian, so don't even try that on me."

"You may not feel remorse, but there are plenty of other things you can feel," I heard Chris say. "Like this." Nossida screamed and I looked up to see Chris armed with another piece of broken glass that he'd driven into Nossida's other wing.

"Yes! Sneak attack! Nice one!" Danny cheered.

"Not for long!" Nossida growled and pulled the glass out of his wing and out of Chris' hand. Chris began to step away from Nossida, but Nossida was quick and had Chris pinned on the ground again in seconds. He's also pinned Chris down on an angle that had deactivated his v-com, bringing him into his even more vulnerable human attire.

Nossida smiled victoriously. He hadn't meant to do that, but was quite happy that he had. He brought up his arm, preparing to bring it down hard. Chris struggled to get away from him, but Nossida was way stronger than any of us. Nossida brought his arm down with all the power he had in him.

I looked away, but that can't prevent your ears from hearing what's going on. I heard Chris scream, but I also heard Nossida scream. I knew Chris couldn't have done anything to retaliate that fast. I looked up to see Danny with a brick he must've found in one of the cardboard boxes. Another brick lay not too far from Nossida.

Yes, Danny had thrown a brick at a psycho birdman wielding a piece of broken glass. But Danny was also holding his vacuvator.

"I think it's time you took your last flight," Danny said before shooting the vacuvator at Nossida. Because the scene was actually going faster than I was seeing it, Nossida hadn't had time to run from Danny's shot and was sucked away.

"Nice shot, Danny," Cathy said with a smile. "The worst one's gone."

"yeah, but what do we do with the rest of them?" Danny asked, looking at our frozen friends who were dethawing.

"Refreeze them and contact the Commander," Cathy replied. "They'll go to prison from there."

I looked down at the boy in my arms. It was sad to think that's he'd been the one to die from all of this. Penn, who was so innocent.

"Sam? Who won?" Penn whispered suddenly, his eyes still closed. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, but I could've cared less at the moment because he was alive. For now at least.

"We did. Danny trapped Nossida in the vacuvator after he..." Then I remember what Nossida did to Chris. "Cathy, take Penn," I said. Cathy took Penn in her arms and I ran over to Chris, who was still lying on the ground. Danny was over by him too.

"Is he okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," Chris answered. I knew he was lying. He looked just as pained as Penn.

"No you're not. You got stabbed by a piece of glass," I replied. "Where did he get you?"

"No where of too much importance," Chris answered.

"Show me," I said. Chris let go of the left side of his abdomen, where there was a considerably large cut from the glass. There was blood all over that side of his shirt and on his hands. I had to admit I was freaked. Not because of the blood, but because of who was losing that blood.

"Oh my gosh," I gasped.

"It's fine. I'm okay," Chris whispered in a comforting tone. "I would know if he'd hit anything vital. I'd be dead already."

"That's not comforting me at all," I replied. I looked up at Danny. "We need to get him to a hospital. Penn too."

"Sam, are you crazy? We can't take an alien to a human hospital," Danny replied. He pointed at Chris. "This one, sure. But Penn, I don't think we can manage that."

"He's got a point there Sam," Chris added.

"Then we'll take him to Mr. Smith," I concluded. I pointed to Chris as well. "After we get this one to a hospital."

"This one has a name you know," Chris commented, pointing to himself.

"This one's also losing enough to blood to kill himself," I added. "Now come on, before that happens." Danny and I helped him up.

"Guys, I'm fine to walk on my own," Chris assured us.

"I don't think so," I shook my head. "Danny, you get Penn. I've got this one." Danny nodded and went to get Penn from Cathy. I put my arm around Chris' shoulders and made him do the same. Then, our little beaten crew left the tower to receive some sort of help. I just hoped we'd get there in time.

**And there's your battle. Now it's another race against the clock. Thanks to my bro for helping me with what to do in the battle!**

**Reviews would be very much appreciated.**

**Read on!**


	16. Ch 16: Tonight Was A Fairytale

**I'm sorry it's been so long since chapter 15. I've been having issues with how to write out this chapter; even though the battle's over, I still don't want to mess it up.**

**I also started school this week, so I haven't had a lot of time to write. **

**But anyway, here's how I finally decided to write chapter 16!**

**Enjoy!**

**Sam's POV**

"And to think that last night at this time, we were on that little island fighting for our lives," Cathy said as she twisted another strand of my hair in the curling iron. It was Friday evening and the two of us were getting ready for the dance at her house.

Mr. Smith had been able to revive Penn; he'd known a way to get the poison out of him before it had officially killed him. The kid was still out in the clubhouse, recovering.

As for Chris, he was fine too. The cut left by the glass really wasn't as deep as we'd thought. He still needed thirteen stiches, but he was fine according to John.

"Yeah," I replied. "So, do you have a date for tonight?"

"Well, Max had asked me. But seeing as though he was an evil liar and is now on his way to intergalactic prison, we're not going together anymore," Cathy answered. "So I'm going in alone, hoping someone will ask me dance."

"I'm sure someone will ask you," I said in response. "You're a nice girl and there are plenty of nice boys in our class…"

"Are you going with anyone?" Cathy asked, interrupting me. I paused for a moment, a little startled by her sudden question.

"No, I'm not going with anyone," I answered.

"What? You're not going with Chris?" Cathy asked, sounding just as surprised as I was.

"No. Chris didn't ask me," I replied. "Besides, he might not even be going anymore anyways."

"Well why wouldn't he go?" Cathy asked like it was a silly thought.

"Well, let's see. He got stabbed yesterday and spent half the night in the hospital. Then he wasn't at school today because he didn't sleep at all last night and it generally hurts when you get stitches or when you get stabbed," I answered, trying to keep the edge of sarcasm to hide my inner disappointment.

Did I want Chris to be there tonight? Yes. Was I a little upset that he didn't ask me to go with him? Yes. But there was always the possibility that he'd just ask me to dance when we got there, having been to shy to ask me to go with him beforehand. But now, it appeared that my chances were extremely slim. And if I had to face that fact, so did Cathy.

"I would still go if that happened to me," Cathy remarked with a devious little grin.

"I'm sure you would," I said, rolling my eyes. Cathy gently smacked my shoulder then went to put the curling iron down.

"Okay. You're done. Dress time," she said, unable to mask her excitement. She grabbed her dress from the closet and ran to the bathroom in the hall to get changed.

Cathy loves getting all dressed up like this. I have to admit that I do too. Instead of looking all normal like you do everyday, you get to dress up and feel like some fairytale princess for a night. And no matter how old I get, I'll always get the same feeling from nights like these.

"What do you think?" Cathy asked, walking back into her room. She was wearing a shiny purple dress with tank top sleeves that went down right below her knees. It was the kind of dress that fits around you upper body, and then flows out from your waist. It was gorgeous.

"Oh my gosh, it's beautiful," I said, getting up off the bed to get a closer look. "What made you choose purple?"

Cathy shrugged. "It was more the dress than the color. I realized after the fact that it wasn't my usual pink. But it's close enough so I figured why not?" She seemed really happy. "Now you're turn!"

I grabbed my dress from where we'd hung it in her closet and went to the bathroom to put it on.

I had to admit that I'd also gone out of my usual colors; my dress was red. It was strapless with a sweetheart neck and it fit like Cathy's dress; tight on top and then flowery from the waist down. Mine went down to right on my knees, and it was sparkly. I loved it.

I walked back into Cathy's room. Cathy's mouth dropped open when she saw me.

"And?" I asked nervously.

"You better hope Chris is at that dance tonight, or some other boy will ask you and you're too nice to say no," Cathy answered, unable to hide her smile. I grabbed a pillow off her bed and threw it at her. Cathy giggled and hid from my attack. I started laughing too. Oh, these nights were fun.

"Any sign of Danny yet?" Cathy asked as the two of us walked through the gym together. We'd been here twenty minutes and still couldn't find a trace of The Danny. He had to be here somewhere. Danny wasn't one to be late to something like this. School? Sure. But a school dance? Never!

"Find Wendy and I'm sure you'll find him close by," I answered.

"No, he isn't with her. I saw her a few minutes ago," Cathy replied. "Her dress is pink." _Surprise, surprise,_ I thought. It wasn't a secret to all of us that Wendy knew that Danny also kind of liked Cathy. So anything she could do to remain the center of Danny's attention was a must. And if that was wearing Cathy's signature color, so be it.

"Then I don't know what to tell you," I said with a shrug. Katy Perry's _Firework _started playing.

"I love this song!" Cathy exclaimed.

"Funny, I actually don't mind this song," a voice said from behind us. Soon enough, Danny had his arms around both Cathy's shoulders and mine. "You two look lovely tonight."

"You don't clean up half bad yourself," I replied, noting how Danny was actually wearing dress shoes with black dress pants and a red polo shirt. This was as dresses up as the boy would get. I was proud.

"Why thank you," Danny said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to have a word with your blonde friend here." Danny let go of my shoulders and moved so that her was standing in front of Cathy with his hands on her shoulders.

"Miss Smith, would you give me the honor of the next dance?" he asked. Cathy giggled.

"Why yes I will, Mr. Jackson, if you promise to stop talking like we're in some old fashioned fairytale movie," she answered. Danny smiled.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I was having fun," he explained.

"Danny having fun with words? No!" I commented sarcastically. Danny gave me a glare that said 'haha, very funny'.

"I guess I'll leave you two alone then," I said, walking away, my back turned to the them. I was on my own now.

I walked over by where the bleachers were rolled in and saw a piece of paper sticking out a few rows down. I walked down and pulled the paper out to find an envelope.

_It's still not too late to read this, _was written on it above where my name was written in black pen. _THE LETTER!  
><em>

I opened the envelope, wondering how it'd gotten there for a brief moment. But not too long, because then I actually got to read my letter. It read:

_Dear Sam,_

_ Right now, I'm supposed to be writing an essay for language arts. But essays don't take that long to write, and this is more important. As you know, there's a dance this Friday. And I'm hoping that this isn't coming too late; seeing as though you are a really nice, funny, pretty girl, I wouldn't be surprised if I've lost my chance. But I can still try. And with that, I have one question for you: Will you go to the dance with me? _

_ Chris. _

_P.S. Danny wants you to know that he thinks I'm a hopeless romantic; real life isn't a book._

I read the letter over again, a tad confused and a lot excited. How had this letter gone here? And why didn't he just ask me in person? Oh, who am I kidding? I'm actually glad he wrote me this. Because now I can keep it as a reminder of what almost would've happened if aliens hadn't captured me. Or just read the letter the minute he handed it to me regardless of what he'd said.

On that thought, why hadn't I assumed that Chris had written that letter when he gave it to me? He'd told me the sender was a secret. But who would send a note to me through him except him? Anyone else would've given it to Cathy to give to me. Why had that thought not occurred to me five days ago?

But that wasn't all that important right now. All that mattered was that I'd read my letter and was buzzing from the excitement of reading it. Danny calls him a hopeless romantic. Well, he may be hopeless, but I guess that's my type.

I folded the letter back up and stuck it in the envelope. I carefully shoved it back into the bleachers, promising to return for it later. I turned to go back to Cathy and Danny, but someone gently grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. I panicked.

This was just like what happened with Nossida Monday night. I'd almost run into him, then he'd grabbed my wrist before I had the chance to run away. Except, this person's grip was much softer, not like they wanted to capture me and torture me with their crazy schemes.

I turned around fast, ready to attack if necessary, and found myself staring into the blue eyes I'd just been daydreaming about. I smiled.

"It isn't midnight yet, Cinderella," Chris said, smiling as well. He was dressed just like Danny except his shirt was blue. I personally think he looked even better than Danny. It was just something about how the lights were reflecting off his eyes, making them sparkle. Or maybe it was how cute and genuinely happy he looked smiling like that. But that's just me talking.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I wasn't aware that my prince was coming tonight," I replied just a creatively. I know that in all honesty, his first line was a little corny and mine just added to it, but I think it's sweet. "I thought you weren't coming."

"And miss my chance at seeing you look so pretty? Never," Chris replied, shaking his head.

"But last night…"

"Last night's in the past now. This is tonight," Chris interrupted me. "Whatever happened, happened. We're all okay now. That's all that matters." I smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I replied with a shrug. _Love Story_ started playing. "I read your letter."

"And?" Chris asked, seeming nervous.

I held my hand out to him. "Dance with me?" I said in the form of a question. Chris smiled again and took my hand.

"As you wish," he replied, leading me over to where the other kids were dancing. I put my hands on his shoulders, and he set his hands gently on my waist. And I've gotta admit that nothing I've done has ever felt so right than that moment did.

I also remembered where he'd quoted that last bit from; _The Princess Bride._ And in that movie, whenever Wesley said that to Buttercup, he'd really been saying I love you.

**Cathy's POV**

"I always knew they liked each other," I said to Danny as the two of us watched Chris and Sam from across the dance floor. Of course we'd known all along that Chris was going to surprise Sam here tonight.

"Cath, everyone knew that but the two of them," Danny said in reply. "That's how it always is with those story book couples."

"Story book couples?" I asked, wondering about the term.

"Two people who are supposed to be together and who both really like each other, but they can't see that," Danny explained. "Everyone else knows, except the two involved. Eventually, they end up together. How that happens always changes. And in this story, it involved a school dance, a letter, a surprise, and broken glass."

I thought about that for a minute. I'd been trying to think up a way to tell Danny that I kind of like him for a while now. And I'd decided that I wanted to do it tonight. I saw a chance arising.

"Say Sam and Mark started dating. What kind of couple would you classify them as?" I asked, playing it off like I was just generally curious.

"The polar opposite couple," Danny answered. "Two very different people, who fall in love and have a relationship that works because of their difference. Although I think Sam and Mark a little too different to ever really work.

"I see. What about me and Jeremy?" I asked, my strategy in full motion.

"You two would be a general cute couple, I guess," Danny answered, thinking a little harder on that one. "You're the nice girl who kinda likes the geeky kid, that's Jeremy, and then one day, you realize you really like him. Then you start dating and it's considered sweet, I guess."

"Ok. How about you and Wendy?" I questioned.

"We'd be your on again off again couple," Danny responded. "Deep down, we really like each other. But we fight a lot on the outside." I nodded.

" And me and you?" I finally asked, staring him straight in the eye. He stared right back as his mouth spread into a somewhat mischievous grin.

" I thought you'd never ask," he said, pulling me closer to him to where our lips were almost touching. "We, would be the kind of couple where no matter what happens, we'll stick it out together."

"And what's the name for that category?" I asked.

"I like to consider that the spontaneous couple," Danny answered, then kissed my softly on the lips. He pulled back. "Any arguments?"

"The jury's all in favor," I replied. He kissed me again and I have to admit that nothing I've ever done had felt so right as this moment.

_**~ After the Dance ~**_

**Penn's POV**

"Tonight was literally like a fairytale," Cathy said, still twirling around form glee.

"For you? Or everyone?" I asked. The two of us were hanging out in her living room while Mr. Smith talked to the Commander about what they were going to do with me. My mom's kind of in jail now, so it's not like I can live with her for the time being.

"Everyone," Cathy answered. "I'm so glad you hung onto that letter. It really made Sam's night to finally get that." I smiled, happy I'd nabbed it from Nossida earlier this week. It clearly belonged to Sam and I had meant to give it to her earlier, but my chances slipped away. At least she'd gotten it before it was too late.

"I'm glad it helped," I replied. "You two looked so pretty."

"Thank you," Cathy responded. "I'm so glad you're okay. If you hadn't, you know, made it, tonight would've been no fun at all!"

"I'm happy I made it too," I agreed. "You're grandpa is a really smart man. And he's really nice. And so are the plants."

"So you've met them?" Cathy asked.

"Of course," I replied. Cathy sighed and shook her head.

"Oh Grandpa and his plants," she muttered. Mr. Smith came into the living room at that moment.

"Okay, Penn, we've worked out where you're headed. You're going to stay with your aunt on Xeneolo until they can figure out what's going on with your mom. The Commander's going to beam you up there from the clubhouse."

"Alright," I said, standing up. I walked over to Mr. Smith. "I can't thank you enough for saving my life." He smiled.

"I'm glad to have done it," he replied. "Good luck out there, son." Then he gave me a hug and a smile. I smiled back and then turned to Cathy.

" I promise I'll keep in touch with you four," I said, giving her a hug also.

"You better, kid. We're gonna miss you," she said in reply. "Have fun with your aunt!"

"I'll try," I replied. "Thanks again. I literally owe my life to you guys."

"A life we're happy to still have," Mr. Smith said. I smiled at them one last time.

"Until we meet again," I said, then walked out to the clubhouse to go home.

**Cathy's POV  
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I was sad to see Penn go. He's a really nice kid. I really hope we'll meet again.

"So, Cathy. How was the dance?" Grandpa asked, seeming slightly suspicious.

"It was wonderful," I answered, twirling around a little. I was still buzzing from that kiss.

"Did the others have a good time?" Grandpa asked.

"Oh yeah. We had a great time," I responded.

"What's got you all wired up?" he asked with a tad of suspicion that seemed faked. "You didn't kiss any boys did you?" I stopped at that. He was joking right?

"Uh… n-no. O-of course not! Wh-why would you say that?" I answered nervously, hoping I was being convincing. My face felt really hot. Hopefully, I wasn't blushing too much. Grandpa gave me a look.

"Just wondering," he said.

"Oh. Okay," I replied, glad to be done with that conversation. "Well, I'm gonna go dress down now. I'll be back in a minute!" I said, racing off upstairs.

**Mr. Smith**

I shook my head as Cathy bolted away upstairs. I laughed to myself.

"I love it when they're so obviously trying to hide something that you know they're lying," I thought aloud.

I walked over and sat down on the couch, waiting for Cathy to come back down.

"Especially when you heard them admit it to their best friend before they came inside the house."

**Awww, is it over?**

**I don't know. Is it?**

…**. =l**

**At the current time, this is the end! I hope you all enjoyed the story!**

**But stay tuned! I may have an alternate ending coming. Maybe an epilogue or something like that. You never know…**

**Anyway, thanks so much for reading! Check out my other stories if you liked this one!**

**Thanks again!**

**~ BeachBabe123**

**Read on! =D**


	17. Author's Note

**Well, I decided not to have an alternate ending. I couldn't think of one. My mind's moved on to other ideas. And it's hard to go back right away when you've moved on. **

**So, with that said, this "chapter" is me asking for your help. As the readers, I want what I write to be what you want to read. And I've had multiple ideas recently, all of which I want to write. **

**I am personally a horrible decision maker and it would take me months to pick one. So I'm turning the question over to you all. Below, I have listed the general ideas, (not very much though) about each of my ideas. Review on which you think sounds the most interesting. **

**Thanks!**

Kryptonite: An ancient fairy tale comes to life. (More of an action story, I guess. I don't really know what to call it.)

For Your Entertainment: They face a villain whose plan of attack is to play with his opponents. Again, literally. (I'm calling this one action too.)

I Hope It Rains: Love can make you do some crazy things. So can jealousy. (This is more of a love story than an action story. There is an alien involved, but it's not a big action thing like All I Ever Wanted or the two previous ideas.)

This Time: When the person you're in a relationship with makes you be something you're not, it's time to leave them behind and find someone new. Sometimes, it takes that new person to get you back on track. (This is just a love story. Probably the shortest of the 4 ideas.)

Angel of Music: An alien comes to Single Town looking for the perfect voice, and she'll do anything to make it hers. (This can be considered action. Not much of a love story.)

Freeze Frame: A monster intends to cool things off a bit. It's up to the MBC to heat things up. (Action. There will be witty humor in this one, I guarantee it.)

How Far We've Come: The adventures of the next generation of the MBC: Alex, Jacob, Natalie, and Laurel. (There will be action, romance, humor, pretty much everything here. This one will most likely be written at the same time as something else.)

**So, tell me what you think. I really do value your thoughts and opinion. **

**Yes, they are all named after songs. That's my thing with these stories, they're all named after songs. That's because those songs inspire me to write a story about them. If you want to know artists and listen to them, ask. **

**Thanks again everyone!**

**-BeachBabe123**

**Read on!**


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